A Reunited Friendship
by cantstopobsessing
Summary: Part two of series Fixing What Was Broken. House tries to keep Cuddy around now that she has appeared back into his life.
1. Chapter 1

House was sitting at his desk when Cuddy knocked on his door once then opened it around 1:00. "You still want that sandwich?"

He got up, grabbed his cane and walked toward the door. "Shouldn't you tell your team first?"

House turned and looked into the adjoining room and saw his team sitting at the table looking at him confused, who were waiting for him to come back into the room which he excused himself out of a few minutes before to get the file to the patient they were talking about diagnosing. "Nah, they're fine."

They went into the elevator together and rode down in silence. When they reached the lobby to cut across to the cafeteria they were getting looked at by all the members of the staff. All knowing what House did and why Cuddy left, they were confused to see them together and weren't hiding it. She was trying to dodge the looks while House was walking with his head held high. "Look at all the attention you get when you walk around with me," he paused. "I bet they are all wondering what's going to happen. Like Ross and Rachel; will they, won't they get back together?" He looked at her and gave a nervous look which she rolled her eyes at.

"They are not looking at us that way, and this is just lunch. A BUSINESS lunch," she corrected, looking at him sternly.

"Psh, yeah! Try telling them that," he motioned to the nurses they passed who were looking at them.

She ignored her surroundings and they walked the rest of the way to the cafeteria in silence. After they both got their food, with Cuddy paying, as agreed, they took a table furthest away from everyone else.

"Okay, House, so who's the guy?"

He gave a look of surprise while chewing on his sandwich. "That's rather sexist of you. Why do you assume it's a guy? Although, I see your point."

"That's not what I meant."

Something seemed different about her, he couldn't figure out what, but he started to study her closely. "So you want the guys name then?"

"That's why I'm here," she grabbed her coffee and took a sip, waiting.

"His name is-" he scrunched up his face in thought, "Gerg Esuoh."

"That's your name backwards," she said stone faced, not amused at all.

"Oh, that's right, I thought it sounded familiar. I'm sorry. Asil Ydduc?"

"Nope. Try again."

He paused, taking a second to think. " Thirty-one. Actually, that's a name I gave him, because I just can't remember his real name-" he looked up in thought.

She sighed and held her forehead with her left hand that was resting on the table a second ago. "My sister was right."

He gave her a confused look, "right about what?"

"There is no guy is there? You're just stringing me along, like it's a game. I don't know why she saw it and I didn't," she was shifting in her seat about to get up.

"Yeah, because your sister knows me SO well," he scoffed.

She grabbed her coffee and her sandwich after putting her purse strap that was sitting next to her on her right shoulder, still getting ready to leave, when he stopped her. "No, wait," he reached out and touched her right arm that was on the table, helping her shift out of the booth. "There is a guy. Really."

"Then what's his name." She asked, losing her patients.

"I...don't want to give you his name."

She sighed loudly, "why not?"

He lowered his head, but his eyes were still on her. "Because if I give you the name, it'll be like you are replacing me."

"For my hospital, yes."

"Why do you need a Diagnostics Department, anyway?" he asked, trying to steer the conversation away.

She just stared at him blankly. "Unbelievable. Goodbye, House. I have to get back to work," she slid out of the booth, threw away her lunch, and walked away.

"But I do really know a guy!" he shouted out after her but she kept walking. He watched her leave the cafeteria and turned his head and saw that everyone near him was looking at him. "What? Don't you have something better to do? Go save lives!" He looked down at his barely touched sandwich, grabbed it, stood up and walked passed the garbage and dumped it in there just like Cuddy, and started to make his way back to his office to be with his team. He needed a distraction...


	2. Chapter 2

After House sent his team out to do some tests on their patient he went into Wilson's office. "Where does Cuddy work?"

"You mean the hospital she's at now?" He asked looking up from a file open on his desk.

"I thought that's what I meant by 'work.' Unless she has some other secret job that she managed to hide from me. If that's the case, I want to know about that one first," House sat on his couch.

"There's no secret job. Annnnd, why are you asking me and not her?"

House hesitated before answering. "Sheee's a little upset with me right now."

"What did you do?"

"Nothing."

Wilson kept staring at him silently.

"I'm not kidding, I didn't do anything. She wanted me to help her with a name of a good Diagnostician for her hospital to open up a department there."

"Do you even know another Diagnostician like one she wants?"

"No."

"But, you told her you did know one?"

"Of course I did."

Wilson paused. "Yeah, it's a real mystery why she's mad at you."

"No, it was before that, I could tell. So that's why, I need to go to where she works to figure it out."

Wilson sighed, "can't you just, leave her alone? Wait until she comes back to you?"

"And never know the real reason behind what's bothering her?" House asked looking at Wilson appalled. "How will I be able to sleep at night?"

"So, you think stalking her at her work will help your situation?" Wilson arched his eyebrow.

"Hey, she's already mad at me. Might as well have a little fun while I'm at it."

"I'm not giving it to you," Wilson looked back down at his file.

House knew he was trying to ignore him, hoping he would go away. So, he leaned forward and stared at him, knowing that Wilson could see him in the corner of his eye. "I'm not going away."

Wilson continued to look down, "sit there all you want. I'm not caving," he moved a piece of paper off the top to look at the one below.

"I hope you know I'm not just going to sit here, but I'm also going on the consults with you. I'll be your shadow. I'll eat your food," Wilson laughed, which House ignored and continued. "I'll be everywhere you are. Until you give me the name of that hospital."

"Fine."

"Fine, you'll give it to me?"

"Fine- follow me around. You'll get bored."

House got up to look at what Wilson had on his desk and put his left hand out to grab something which Wilson stopped by clasping his hand on top. "Don't touch my stuff." Wilson caught a glimpse of House's watch. "Oh crap, I forgot, I have an appointment with Katrina Slinsky." Wilson let go of House's hand and pushed his chair back to stand up.

"Oh good, we have a patient," House followed closely on Wilson's right to the exam room where his patient was waiting.

"Hi, Katrina," Wilson said when he walked through the door with House right behind him taking a seat in the only chair in the room.

"Hi, Dr. Wilson, um, who's that?"

"Oh me? I'm Dr. House. I'm looking in on all of Dr. Wilson's patients today because he had a little too much to drink last night and might not be thinking all that clearly. So, I'm here to you know, make sure he doesn't give you a wrong prescription that could affect you in a dangerous way, or, that you might possibly be allergic to, isn't that right, Dr. Wilson?" House looked at Wilson with a soft smile who was looking at him upset, and then looked at Wilson's patient who looked mortified.

"He's... kidding. Sorry, excuse me, one minute Katrina," Wilson grabbed House's arm to lift him off the chair, opened the door that House closed behind him a second ago and pushed him out.

"Hey, hey, be careful..I'm cripple," House complained barely being able to use his cane at the speed that Wilson was pushing him.

"How could you?-Arg! She is going to HATE me for this!" Wilson pulled his prescription pad out of his lab coat pocket and wrote the name of Cuddy's new hospital on it and slammed it down on the counter they were standing near. House picked it up and smiled.

"Hey, thanks for this, really. Do you think- since you have your pad out, you can write me a new prescription for Vico-"

"No!" Wilson took a breath, trying to calm down and walked back into the exam room with his patient. House smiled and started walking to the lobby to leave.

Forty minutes later he reached Cuddy's hospital. Before he went in, his cell phone started ringing. "What is it?"

"Our patient just started having heart attacks." Chase said from his end.

House sighed. "Fine, start testing her heart then, see what's triggering them and get back to me if you find anything."

"She says she wants to see you."

"Well, I'm not there. So, keep her alive long enough until I get back."

"When will that be?"

"Just do it," House hung up and slipped his cell phone back in his pocket.

He walked through the door to the lobby and stayed in the corner of the room to take it in and see if he could spot Cuddy before she spotted him. It looked clear and found her office door. He took one last sweep through and started heading over to it.

Before he knocked he put his ear up to the door and heard her talking to someone. He backed away, trying to decide whether to be polite and wait or, to barge in. He started to reach for the doorknob, opting for the barging in when his cellphone changed the scenario. He made a face and backed away and answered his phone.

"What happened?"

"We think she might have Coronary Heart Disease," Chase announced.

"'Think?' What makes you think that?"

"She has some of the symptoms, chest pain, fatigue, shortness of breath, weakness-"

"Most common in older people."

"She's 60."

"Then run some tests. Start with a stress test, get an echocardiogram, and oh-" House saw Cuddy's door open and a Doctor walk out first who looked at House and pointed at him, said something he couldn't hear to Cuddy, which got her to look at House.

"House?" Chase asked on the other end.

"Gotta go, get those done and call me back."

He hung up his phone and put it back in his pocket. Cuddy walked straight up to him with an angry expression. "House, WHAT are you doing here?"

"This is DR. House?" the Doctor that was in her office overheard and appeared standing next to Cuddy with his arm extended for House to shake who didn't make any sign of shaking back, just held his cane and looked down at the Doctor's hand.

"Yeah, I'm Dr. House."

"Hi," he put his arm back down to his side. "I'm Dr. Ryan Triny. It's nice to meet you. I've heard a lot about you." House just stood in silence and stared. "Well, I'll let you two talk." He walked away which left House and Cuddy alone.

"I like this hospital. I'm respected here," he said standing up a little straighter.

"No you're not."

"Well that guy likes me," he stated, pointing with his cane in the direction of where Triny went.

"WHY are you HERE?"

"Tell me, who did he hear a lot about me from?"

"House!"

He let out a hesitating noise when letting out a breath. "Okay, I'm here because you seemed upset earlier and I want to know why. Because before that, you seemed alright."

Cuddy led him into her office and closed the door behind her, not wanting to let any of her employees hear their conversation. "Unless...you just want to have sex, which, I'm fine with too.." he said while she was pushing him further into her office. "I've been getting pushed a lot today. Is there something I don't know?"

She ignored all his comments and stood next to him as if to make her point more clearly to him the closer she is. "House, look, I went and saw you in the hospital- yes, I cared, because I thought you were dying. You're not now-"

"Actually, technically, I am. Just not as quickly," he breathed in and got the scent of her shampoo, recognizing it as a brand she was using when they were together, having smelled it on her when she got out of the shower on mornings he was there from spending the night before with her. He shook his head to get the thought out.

"Oh, you know what I mean. A part of me thought, 'he changed, he does nice things now...He stays married to people when they need greencards, he-'"

"Another technicality, divorced now."

She glanced down at his hand and didn't see a ring. "That's not the point. I thought I could come to you for things. I ask you a question, you seem to want to help, and you end up playing mind games with me the whole time!" She stepped away from him and started pacing around her office.

"That's not what I'm talking about! You were mad before, I could tell, you were rigid, you were walking around the hospital like you didn't want to be seen with me! When EVERYONE there knows-"

"Knows what? That I was dumb enough to get into a relationship with you? That you- couldn't handle things like an adult when we broke up?- That-"

"I told you I felt hurt by it!" He was staring her down, following her pacing.

"Oh, yeah, and what do you do with that hurt? You ram your car into my HOUSE!"

"OH! We're BACK on that now!"

"YES! We are!"

"I was forced into that situation!"

"Forced? No one was behind the wheel but you!" Cuddy stopped and looked straight at him.

"You lied to me. You said you haven't seen anyone else since me. And then I go over to return the STUPID hairbrush that you HAD to have back and I see you sitting there with some guy!" He was leaning forward on his cane, slightly hunched.

"You expected me to never see anyone else after you?" she looked at him shocked.

"Not when you tell me you aren't. I've NEVER lied to you-"

She let out a laugh, "you've lied to me SO many times!"

"Not when it comes to things that matter!"

"Get out, House! Get out of my office," she clenched her teeth and walked around her desk to stand behind it.

"Fine!"

He walked to the door, swung it open, not bothering closing it behind him and took five steps then turned to look at everyone who was looking back at him. They were yelling so loud, it didn't matter that they were in her office; they heard everything. "Here's a little advice to all the MEN in this hospital! It doesn't matter how much she says she wants it, or how badly YOU want it, no one should sleep with LISA CUDDY!"

With that, House turned and walked out of her hospital and went back to his...


	3. Chapter 3

House woke up from falling asleep in his lounge chair and surveyed the room, seeing he was alone. Shaking his head to feel more awake and to try and remember where his team went, helped him replay the last thing Chase said to him. The diagnosis was confirmed.

House looked around for his cane that he left on the right side of his chair, to go meet up with them but he didn't see it there. Looking around on the floor to see if it fell didn't help. It was nowhere around him.

He grabbed his cell phone and called Foreman's cell. "Where did you put it?" House asked when he answered.

"Put what?"

"My cane. It was here when I fell asleep, I woke up just now, and it's gone."

"I don't know, why do you think I had anything to do with it?"

"Because you know that walking without it causes me more misery than usual, having just been through surgery. And you have been the reason for most all of my misery in the last few months. So, I just assumed-"

"It wasn't me."

House hung up and squinted his eyes in thought. There was only one other person he thought could be behind it.

"Give it to me," he demanded when he opened the door to Wilson's office. When he opened the door wide enough he saw Cuddy sitting on the couch with blotchy cheeks. "Oh great," he commented rolling his eyes. He saw his cane laying across the top of Wilson's desk and kept his right hand on his thigh to ease the pain it caused walking without support and reached for it but Wilson pulled it away and put it in his lap. "C'mon, Wilson. I need it, I just had SURGERY!" He was trying his hardest to ignore Cuddy.

"You'll get it back when you apologize."

"What did I do to you?" House's voice was raising by the word.

"Not what you did to me, what you did to Cuddy," Wilson motioned to her but House kept his eye on him.

"I didn't do anything!"

"You went to her hospital, and screamed at her, then screamed ABOUT her before you left."

"And whose fault is that? YOU'RE the one who told me where she was. So if anyone should apologize it should be YOU," he pointed at him.

"You were scaring my PATIENT! And I already said I was sorry to her, now it's your turn."

House used his good foot to swing his position to face her, "I'm sorry," he swung back to face Wilson. "There, now give it back," he extended his left arm to get it from him.

Wilson walked over to him, House smiling thinking that's all it took to get it back, until he saw him pass him, walking out the door and turning back around to face House. "You'll get it back when you talk and apologize. And without screaming." Wilson shut the door in his face and House irritatedly turned to face her.

"So this is your fault that I'm in excruciating pain when I take a step." She saw his limp was ten times worse than it normally is, when he took a seat on the opposite end of the couch as her. "Given how you yelled at me, and kicked me out, I wasn't expecting to see you around these parts," he said looking down at his feet.

"I wasn't going to. But I need to know that you won't pull that on me again. I'm trying to build a good reputation there and you just about ruined it all in less than five minutes," her voice sounded strained like she's been crying for hours.

"So you came here to hear me say I'll never do it again?" he turned to look at her and saw that she was already looking at him. "Would you believe me even if I said I wouldn't?"

"I don't know."

He looked back down at his feet. "So, it really doesn't matter what I say. Then there's got to be another reason why you came here."

He looked back at her, noticing her body language change, looking even more uncomfortable than she was before he asked that. "There is."

"I don't REALLY know a Diagnostician."

"I know, Wilson told me, that's not it."

He kept his gaze on her, waiting.

"That Doctor that you met at my hospital, started having seizures three hours ago and no one knows why."

He looked confused, "three hours ago? How long was I asleep?"

She ignored his question. "I need you to look at him. See if you can figure out what's wrong with him."

"No one there knows?"

"They can't find anything. They put him in the MRI to see if anything could be triggering them but found nothing. And he would be the one that would think outside the box enough to figure something out; but, he's still in bad shape. He has had one every half hour." He studied her face and behind the nervousness that she was showing, hoping he would agree without any resistance, he saw panic.

"He was the guy, wasn't he?"

"What?"

"You look like you care too much. He's not just a Doctor in your hospital. He was the guy. Other than the nervousness on your face about whether I'll look at him or not, when he came up to meet me, he stood so close to you, he was practically touching you. That says that at one point or another, he was comfortable enough to not have those boundaries."

"That doesn't mean anything- we were a couple and look how far we are sitting from-" he extended his left hand and grabbed her upper thigh. She took it off and threw it back to his side. "Okay, he was the guy," she confessed and he lifted his head high for a second and dropped it down, his eyes looking up to keep her in his vision. "I..needed someone to talk to after what happened to us. I couldn't go to Wilson because he's your friend, I just started my job, he was there-"

"I get it," House interrupted, not sure how much more he wanted to hear.

"There has got to be a reason why those seizures are happening. They don't just happen to happen. Make the call, get him to come over here, I'll crack his head open and have a look." He grabbed his right thigh with his arm and walked over to the door and put his hand on the doorknob.

"You're not going into him blind are you?" she asked appalled.

He turned from the door to look back at her, with his left hand still on the knob. "Of course not, I left my blindfold at home," he moaned at the pain in his leg he was feeling and pulled out his Vicodin bottle and popped a few in his mouth.

"Thank you, House."

He looked down at the floor then at her, "I'm not doing it for you. I'm doing it for the puzzle...And, if you don't want me to come to your hospital anymore...I won't do it. I've done all the damage I could do there already anyway," she watched him continue to rub his leg. "Now, I'm going to go find Wilson and kill him. I miss prison. Much better drugs there," he smirked and turned to open the door.

"WIL-" he stopped short when he saw Wilson leaning against the wall next to his door, holding out the cane for House. He yanked it from him and limped away slowly; cautiously.

Wilson looked at Cuddy and observed her. "Did he apologize and say he won't bother you at your hospital anymore?"

"He did..in his own way." She was watching House walk down the hall and saw him look to his left and shouted out. "Foreman! A Dr. Ryan Triny will be here soon as a patient. Let me know when he gets here."

Wilson closed the door which blocked her view of him.

"You believed him?"

"He didn't look like he was lying."

"That-is what you wanted, wasn't it?" Wilson looked at her concerned but she still wasn't looking at him.

"Of course it is."

Wilson heard her agreeing, but the expression on her face as she continued to stare at his closed door as if she was still seeing House in her mind's eye, had a look of uncertainty...


	4. Chapter 4

"Taub," House found him standing outside Ryan Triny's room, leaning against the nurse's station desk looking at the chart getting familiar with it when House slid over to his left side and leaned into him.

"Don't get that close, it's creepy." Taub said while keeping his eyes on the chart.

"I'm your boss. I can get as close as I want." Taub took one step to his right to get further away, which House just mimicked to stay close. "I want you...to go in there, and ask him when the last time he had sex was."

"Why me?"

"What, you don't expect me to do it do you? It has been known in some cases, sex can trigger seizures."

Taub scrunched his face, "you know the odds of that being his case? Those usually follow right after sex, and they are very brief. It says in his chart he's been having them every half hour. I doubt he's been-"

"Fine, I'll guess I'll have to do it myself."

House stabbed Taub's foot with his cane and grinned when he shouted in pain and walked into the room. "Remember me?"

"Yeah, Dr. House. I met you earlier."

"Well, your memory is good..." he paused and to stare at him, which Ryan stared very awkwardly back.

"Is there...something I should know?"

"I'm just- trying to see what someone would see in you. And also, waiting for your next seizure because I have a theory and I would hate it to be right and have it happen when I'm here because," House laughed to himself, "that might start some VERY awkward rumors flying around about me in this place. I don't like to be wrong but in THIS case...how long would you say I have to wait before your next seizure?"

"Aren't you supposed to be trying to figure out what's wrong with me? That's why Cuddy wanted you to-"

"Take your case because all the Doctors in her hospital couldn't figure it out? Yeah, I've had that conver-" Ryan's eyes went to the side and he started shaking. "Huh, that was nice timing..I need some help in here!"

Taub came running in and went to the opposite side as House and helped hold him steady, "are you done with your sex theory?"

House didn't answer him. He was relieved because the person he was imagining it being if it was sex was Cuddy. They looked too friendly as they came out of the office and was doubting their break up. But now he chose to believing that they were until there was a reason to believe otherwise.

He looked down and saw that he was still seizing. "We need to look at his brain and see if there are any tumors his hospital missed." He let go of him and started walking away. "Give him something to stop that, he doesn't seem to be doing it on his own." Taub selected an anticonvulsant and injected him with it that calmed him as House headed to his office to theorize what else could be wrong if there wasn't a tumor found.

He was in his office and after hashing out some ideas on his own, he looked around the empty room and got bored. He pulled out his cell phone and called Chase.

"What's taking Taub so long with the MRI?"

"He just got in there a few minutes ago."

"Anything interesting yet?"

"Not that I've heard. I was about to go in there right now and check on things."

"Where are you? The Clinic?" House asked being able to hear some of the chaos in the background.

"Yeah...you told me to do your hours for you, remember?"

House looked up at the ceiling and started replaying the conversation in his head when he told him to do that. "Okay, stay there. I'll go see what's going on with Taub." He hung up his phone and left his office.

When House went to meet up with him he told him he didn't see anything. House told him to keep looking. If there was something there it might be small and maybe wasn't seen the first time around which is why Cuddy's hospital missed it. "Make sure you see nothing. Then ask the rest of the team to do the same."

He left him to go back to his office and after some thought, wrote some more ideas on his board, then stared at it for a while. He was lingering more toward trying the first idea he had written down.

He popped some pills, then waited a few minutes and left the adjoining room and walked into his office and grabbed his cell phone to call Cuddy. "Are you still in the hospital?"

"Yeah, I'm in the cafeteria why?"

"Because I think I'll need you up here in about ten minutes or so to see if-make it now."

She heard what sounded like the phone fall. "House? House!"

She was on his floor in two minutes and rushed into his office and almost didn't see him. "House? Where are- oh my God!" She rushed over to the other side of his desk when she saw his feet on the floor shaking. She pushed his chair out of the way and picked up his head to get a better grip on him and held him close to her, feeling him still convulsing. "HELP! I NEED HELP!"

She looked down at him in a panic, his arms were hitting his stomach and chest, and she grabbed them to keep them steady. "It's going to be alright, House." She looked up to see if anyone was coming while she cradled his body closer to hers...


	5. Chapter 5

The convulsions seemed to not be getting any better on their own. "DAMMIT SOMEONE! HELP ME! WIIIILLLLLLSSSSOOONNN!"

A second later she saw Wilson running from the direction of his office into House's "Cuddy what's-" he saw House in her arms. "Oh God, how long has he been like this?" He slid over next to her.

"I don't know," Cuddy answered through tears. "He called me and I heard the phone drop, when I came up here he was already seizing."

Wilson was frantically looking at him, "he's not stopping. I'm going to get something to inject him with," Wilson got up and ran out of the office.

"Hurry!" She called out to him and looked back down at House, her tears dropping onto his face, and wiping them off him as soon as they fell.

Wilson was back within seconds with a syringe and Cuddy tightened her grip on House so he can inject him. They both held their breath and watched as the convulsions slowly went away.

He was still, and they both took a deep breath and watched him as he looked around his office and at them to take in his surroundings.

"What happened?"

Cuddy loosened her hold on him and he sat up. "You were seizing when I came in here," Cuddy answered, wiping her tears away.

"What did it look like?"

"What do you mean, what did it LOOK like? It looked like a seizure," Cuddy replied.

"How bad was it? Was it small? Did you need to inject something in me?-"

"Yes, we did," Wilson chimed in.

"I know what's wrong with your husband- ex husband, whatever he is-"

"Ex,"Cuddy corrected.

"He's on Tramadol, probably took too many, inducing his seizures," he held up a bottle of Tramadol that rolled under his desk with a patient label partly torn off, trying to hide who he stole it from.

"You, did this to yourself?" Wilson asked.

"Yeah," House stood up, grabbed his cane and walked into the adjoining room back to the board. "You're okay now then, right?" Wilson continued.

"Yeah," House said turning to look back at him. "You can go away now. I'm sure Cuddy will scream for you if I do something like that again."

Wilson rolled his eyes, called him an ass, and left. Cuddy was silent and shocked of what he did, but knew she shouldn't have been. "You did this to yourself?"

"To find out what's wrong, yeah, I did," he answered annoyed by how many times he got that question, while looking back at his board and circled Tramadol, the first thing he wrote down.

"You could have hurt yourself," she seemed uninterested in Ryan and more interested in House. He ignored her concern and turned to leave.

"There's one thing about your theory," she said following him down the hall to the elevator.

"What's that?" The doors opened and they both stepped in.

"He's not taking any pain medication."

House smiled while watching the numbers light up. "See, that's the BEST thing about this case. Here you were, thinking you're moving on from me, and you pick a guy who takes pain medication only worse off-"

"But he DOESN'T!" She insisted.

"Oh, I don't blame you for thinking that. He was hiding it," the doors opened and they stepped out and continued down the hall.

"How is he hiding it?" she asked.

"You'll see," he answered with a smile and opened the door to Ryan's room and went in with Cuddy close behind him.

"You've been overdosing," House announced.

"What?"

House stuck his face into Ryan's. "Say something."

"What do you want me to say?" Ryan asked, looking down at House confused, and House turned to smile at Cuddy again. He shifted away from Ryan.

"You have been popping breath mints since you've been here, only your breath doesn't smell all that minty fresh. So either, that brand you're buying is a bad one, or, you have a little pain problem."

Ryan shifted uneasily in his bed.

"How did you?-"

"Chronic back pain. It's in your chart. Usually controlled with pain medication to get you through the day. MY guess is..today was a bad day? You've been taking an overdose of Tramadol, which, if taking too many, can induce seizures. You could have saved yourself the trip over here if you weren't hiding your addiction, or, if you were smart enough to figure that out on your own," he started walking toward the door, then turned back to look at him.

"I'll have a prescription waiting for you at the Pharmacy to fill before you leave. Take AS PRESCRIBED and the seizures will stop." He walked out and Cuddy followed him.

"How did you know that?" she asked, standing to his left as he grabbed the chart and started updating it. "I know pain medication. Saw the back pain issue, put the pieces together." As he was writing, he felt Cuddy's hand brush some of his hair off his forehead and he stopped, looked up, but kept his head where it was. "What are you doing?"

"It looks like you might have a bruise on your head. Probably hit it up against your desk when you were seizing."

He lifted his left hand to take her hand off and turned. "I'm fine," he commented and walked away, leaving her behind.

House was in his office, writing up the last bits of Ryan's chart to finish up the day when Cuddy walked in. "You haven't left yet?"

She sat in the chair opposite his own and hesitated before saying anything. She strummed her fingers on his tennis ball. "I- have another question for you," she said, not looking at him.

He took the tennis ball from under her and held it in his hands and leaned back into his chair. She put her hand in her lap. "You have someone else you want me to look at? You need another fake name?"

"No," she said as she looked at him, noticing the mark on his forehead did turn into a bruise like she thought it would, looking significantly darker. "How- mad do you think Foreman would be if I were to ask for my old job back?"

He stared before answering, "you find one liar in your new hospital and want to get out? I thought you'd be used to pain medication abusers who lie about their intake by now," he commented.

"It's not, JUST that. Being here- through everything-" she was looking up trying to think of the right words to say, then made eye contact with him. "It made me miss how fast pace this hospital can be. I want that back. So, I want to know what you think, before I bring it up to him, what his reaction would be."

"You mean, how will he take being fired? Or, are you going to offer him your new hospital as an exchange?"

"No," she furrowed her brow. "We need Foreman here. I'm going to offer him a position as a Neurosurgeon instead."

House looked down at his ball he still had in his hands and thought about it. "If he's okay with it, then, I see no problem." He looked back up and saw her smile.

"Good. Thank you. And this doesn't mean we are okay. If I come back- I'm still mad at you for everything you've done-" she watched him nod in understanding. "I'm doing this for me- and, you're not going to know where I live," she gave him a threatening look, which he smiled at.

"I get it."

Her gaze lingered on him, trying to find truth in that, "okay."

"Alright."

"Good night, House."

"Good night."

He watched her stand up and walk out of his office, closing the door behind her. He stared at the door, taking everything in that just happened. She was thinking of coming back. She said it was for her, but, he saw that look of fear in her eyes right after he stopped seizing. That look made him think differently.

He looked down at the chart, no longer in a rush to finish it, placed his tennis ball back on his desk and grabbed his stuff to go home for the day. Leaving what still needed to be done for the morning...


	6. Chapter 6

One week had passed since the last time he saw Cuddy and started doubting if she was really coming back.

He walked into the lobby at 10:00 and saw Foreman standing against the desk. "You're late," he announced when he saw House limping in the corner of his eye.

"I wasn't planning on coming here until noon, so, technically, I'm early. What do you have for me today?" He took a quick glance over at the office door and saw Foreman's name still on it and made a face. Was she lying to him when she said she was thinking of coming back? To see how he would react to it?

"I don't have anything. You can go home."

House looked at him confused. "You couldn't tell me this over the phone? You had to wait until I showed up to tell me to go away?"

"I have to make sure you still come in voluntarily. Now, go home," Foreman insisted walking back to his office.

"You sure? Because you know... once I walk out that door, I'm not coming back in today!" House shouted to him to get his point across.

"Yeah, I know."

He stood there for a minute longer to analyze Foreman as he went behind his desk and picked up the phone to make a call. Something was going on and he couldn't figure out what. But, he wasn't going to stand there and let Foreman decide to send him in the Clinic until a patient came in so he turned around and walked out of the lobby door.

"He just left," Foreman said into the phone as a prop but was really talking to Cuddy who was in the bathroom for the office.

"Are you sure? Has he walked out the door yet, or just out of your view?"

"He walked out the door."

Cuddy opened the door and peeked her head out to see for herself before she walked all the way out. "Thank you for that, Foreman," she said while straightening out her outfit.

"I don't get it. You wanted this job back, the job that includes ordering House around, but on your first day, you send him home? That doesn't seem like you really want this job to me."

"Can you blame me? Trying to keep House in check is the hardest part ABOUT this job."

"Ha, I know. That's why I was relieved when you offered me a surgeon position. I'll gladly take less pay to get away from that responsibility."

"See, so, you know how it is. I just wanted a House-free day on my first day back. So, I can settle back in."

Foreman smiled and patted her on the back as he slid out from behind the desk to let her take over. "I'm glad you are back. And not just because I can get away from the burden of House."

She smiled back at him, "thank you."

He pointed at his name on the door and looked back at her, "so when are we going to get this changed?"

"Tomorrow. Just in case he sneaks back in here and I have to duck under my desk or back in that bathroom, it will at least create the illusion that it's still your office."

He nodded and smiled again, "good thinking," and walked out, closing the door behind him.

House got home within fifteen minutes and plopped onto his couch and put the television on, but he was still looking around for something to do. He pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and called Wilson.

"What is it now?" Wilson asked, seeing House's number on his screen.

"I'm bored."

"So...work."

"I was sent home. I need entertainment, you have any dying patients at the moment?"

"Would you stop bothering me if I told you I did?"

"Hmmmmm...no. Probably not," House extended his legs to rest on his coffee table.

"Why were you sent home?"

"No patients."

Wilson scoffed, "Who told you there were no patients for you to see?"

"Foreman."

"Foreman? Why would Foreman?- Oh."

House sat up and rooted his feet back on the ground. "Why are questioning about Foreman? What do you know, Wilson?"

"Nothing, I, don't know anything," Wilson's tone sounded nervous.

"She's there isn't she? THAT'S why I was told to go home! Because she didn't want me there! Of COURSE! That's GOTTA be it!" House stood up and went for his jacket and keys that he threw on the other end of the couch when he got home.

"House," Wilson said on the other end. "House," he repeated when he didn't answer, then heard him disconnect on his end. Wilson looked at the screen to make sure. "This can't end well," he mumbled to himself.

House made his way back to the hospital and looked around the lobby as he walked over to the Dean of Medicine office. He took note that the door still had Foreman's name, but once he looked inside, passed the writing, he had his answer.

"AH-HA!" He screamed out when he saw Cuddy's back to him.

She turned around startled. "Oh crap! You weren't supposed to come back!"

House walked through the office, closed the door behind him and spread out on her couch. "You would rather send me home, than to give me any patients to treat which would mean I would have to stay here?"

She sat down in her chair, "I would rather send you home than to not have to BABYSIT you as you ignore treating the patients given to you when I'm trying to get everything together on my first day."

"You're right, babysitting me without me having any patients I would ignore and not treat is much better. What is there to get together?" He pulled out a lollipop from his jacket pocket, unwrapped it and stuck it in his mouth, "it's not like you have never done this before," he said muffled but still understandable.

He grew quiet and while now laying down on her couch, was staring at the ceiling. She started getting things together around her desk. "Although," he said after biting into his lollipop. She sighed, knowing this would go on forever. "I can see how you might be nervous. You have worked here before," he took another bite, "but you did go to a hospital who employs Doctors who forget the basics of drugs. Whether an overdose will give you a seizure or not seems pretty easy to me- especially, if it's one I'm taking myself."

"House, shut up."

"Oh, I'm sorry. I forgot he was your husband. Ha, man, you sure know how to pick them."

"I chose you," she stated. He pressed his chin to his chest to look at her.

"I meant, after me. That was your one SMART choice," he looked back up at the ceiling.

"Sure it was," she commented.

"I don't think you mean that."

She stopped answering, hoping he'll get bored and leave. She started pretending that he wasn't there. She went back to organizing her desk but seeing him there was making her feel on edge. She felt him glancing over in her direction every few minutes. This isn't how she expected the day to go. She thought giving him no patients would keep him away from the hospital. Instead, it gave him no reason to leave her office.

"Isn't this the time of day where you try and hide to sleep somewhere when you send your team to do your work for you?" she asked, finally breaking the tension she was creating around herself just being around him alone for this long, without any excuse to leave.

"Yeah, it is," he answered when looking at the time on his phone. "I think I'll sleep here," he stated.

She rolled her eyes, hoping telling him that would get him to go home. "You have a bed you can always go to... away from here."

"Yeah," he lifted his head off the armrest to look at her. "But this couch is so much more comfortable than my bed," he let his head drop back down.

She scoffed, "no it isn't," she stated matter of fact and wished she could take it back as soon as she said it. She doesn't know why she did. Or why she still remembers what his bed felt like. She saw in the corner of her eye, his head was raised again. She glanced at him quickly to see that he was studying her and feared what was going through his head. What he would make of that statement.

"Look, if you're going to sleep, then sleep," she said trying to move on from what just happened. To her surprise he didn't argue that, or point out that she WAS just trying to move to a different topic. Instead, she saw that he turned his body so his back was now to her and even though she couldn't see, guessed that he closed his eyes.

She went back to what she was doing, only trying to be more quiet as to not disturb him. Twenty minutes later, he moved his arm and it caught her attention. She stopped and watched as he slept. She heard deep breathing coming from him, so knew he was asleep. She half expected him not to actually sleep. She thought within seconds of turning around, he'd start talking and bug her again, but, he didn't.

As she watched, as his right arm that she couldn't see beyond his elbow but assumed was laying across his stomach, was moving up and down with his breathing. She smiled to herself, remembering the mornings she woke up before him when they were together and she'd watch him sleep just like she is now.

Her smile faded when she remembered all the things that happened between them since those days. He was almost like a different version of himself during those times. He was sweet and caring. Is that really why, despite everything he has done to get her angry, she is here right now? Because of all those nice moments he had shown her? The phone startled her out of those thoughts and took another quick glance at him, seeing him twitch from the noise of the ring and picked it up.

"Hello?" she answered in a whisper. "Okay, I'll be right there."

She hung up and walked out from behind her desk, and quietly opened and closed her door behind her.

When she came back a half hour later, she looked at her couch and was surprised to see it empty. Her next thought, since her desk chair was empty, was the bathroom. But, the door was open and didn't hear any noise coming from it.

Then, she went back behind her desk and saw a piece of paper. A note. She saw that it read: "You're right. Your couch is crap. See you tomorrow Boss, House."

She sighed, looked at the now vacated couch which the cushions were thrown around in a half hazard way, and she went back to work...


	7. Chapter 7

House made a point of coming in a little earlier than he usually does the next day to try and get on Cuddy's good side. If he planned on getting away with anything today, he had to play his cards just right.

So, at 9:30, he came casually though the doors of the hospital. Instead of going to his office, waiting for a patient, he went straight into Cuddy's office to ask. He was also taking any excuse to go in there. "So, do you have anything for me?" he asked in a loud perky tone, trying to raise it loud enough for her to hear through the noise of the facet running in the bathroom.

He stood there waiting for her to come out and was about to repeat himself but heard the door open. "No, not now," she walked out of the bathroom and started walking to her desk. "I just got here myself and," she looked at him and saw he was staring at her chest. "House."

He widened his eyes and moved his head up, acknowledging her calling his name but kept his eyes where they were. "I'm sorry, what?"

"Stop looking at my chest and focus!"

"Oh c'mon!" he said, "you used to let me stare all I wanted before," he complained.

"No, I didn't LET you," she took her jacket off of her chair and put it on wrapping it around herself, which finally got him to look up at her.

"If you didn't want anyone to look, you shouldn't have worn such a low cut blouse in the first place," he commented. "Why DID you wear it anyway? Whose attention were you trying to get? It wasn't... MY attention was it? Because you weren't wearing anything like THAT yesterday. No, you were all bundled up. And on a day you THOUGHT you wouldn't have to see me-"

"Stop thinking everything is about you. I need you in the Clinic until something comes in."

"I can do that... but, what I can ALSO do is go home, and you can call me to come in when a patient comes for me."

"No. Go to the Clinic. You've been cheating long enough, getting away from doing them, having your team go in instead. It's time you log those hours in yourself."

"But MooOOOOooooommmm!"

"Stop it, House."

He scowled at her serious demeanor. "Fine, I'll go in there." He turned to walk out "but don't expect me to be nice to anyone!" he shouted over his shoulder before closing the door behind him.

He walked into the Clinic, went to the stack of charts of people waiting in rooms, picked them up and threw them back onto the counter one by one, looking through the ones he considered boring, trying to find one of slight interest.

The nurse behind the counter watched as he did this and paused at one. "Where's this guy? The one that hears voices?"

"Exam room three."

He took the chart, dropped the rest of them, leaving them in a messy stack for someone else to clean up and walked over to room three.

He opened the door and smiled to himself at the sight of a guy in mid to late twenties, who was staring at the floor nervously. "Hi, I'm Dr. House," he announced, closing the door behind him and dragged the chair closer to the patient and sat down.

"So you hear voices?"

"Yes," he answered, still looking nervous.

"Are you hearing them right now?"

"No, they went away when you came in. I was hearing them a second ago."

House stared at him, "any mental illnesses run in your family?"

"Not that I know of."

"Do you...think that the VOICES know? Can you ask them for me?"

"What?" he asked looking confused.

"Nothing," he paused again in thought. "So what do the voices say? Do they help you pick your clothes out in the morning? Tell you what matches and what doesn't, stuff like that?"

"What? No, what kind of questions are these?"

House smiled, "well, I think they are kind of FUN questions, don't you?"

"Nnnoo," he answered hesitantly.

"Okay, alright, look. I'll give you meds to try and stop the voices. These will hold you over until you see someone OUTSIDE of a Clinic to get actual treatment," House got off the chair and leaned against the sink to use as a hard surface and started writing out the prescription. He looked over at the patient who got up from where he was sitting, reached for a glass vial he had in his pocket and threw it down on the ground and ran out, closing the door behind him and heard scraping sounds of something being moved to block the door from opening. "Hey! You left without your prescription! You better get used to those voices!"

House breathed in and smelt the overwhelming smell of Ammonia. He tried turning the knob to the door but it was jammed. He reached into the cabinets for gowns for the patients and stuffed them under the door so the smell doesn't leak out of the room.

Then, he walked to the opposite end of the room and pulled out his cell phone and called Wilson.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Wilson. Do you know how to treat someone who has been exposed to a high level of Ammonia?"

"Yeah, why, you don't?" Wilson asked shocked.

"Yeah, I do. I'm just making sure you do because I have just been exposed to a high level," House sighed to himself and looked up at the ceiling. "You better get someone to get me out of here. I'm in exam room three in the Clinic. Don't use the door. It could spread."

"I'm coming!" Wilson said out of breath, already running out of his office...


	8. Chapter 8

Cuddy answered her desk phone on the third ring.

"Hello?"

"Cuddy, we need to get House! Get as many people as you can to help-" Wilson was shouting into the phone sounding like he was running.

"House is fine. He's in the Clinic, and if he put you up to this-"

"Cuddy! We NEED to get him out!" He stormed into her office, holding the door knob to keep him steady. "He-" he paused to take a deep breath. "He's stuck in an exam room with Ammonia gas."

Her annoyed look changed from panic and jumped out of her seat. "This better not be a scam!"

"It's not- I went into the Clinic before I got you. The nurses say the patient-he went into help came running out-House never came out-" Wilson swallowed, still out of breath, "I don't want to waste any more time. I already have a couple nurses-to go around the building to help, they have masks and long sleeves if we need them-I came to get you."

Cuddy's speed increased and ran out the door of the lobby with Wilson on her right. "I know where the window is. Did he say he was going to open it?"

"He said it was a high level- I don't know if he was strong enough- I didn't ask. I just ran down-" they saw the window closed when they cut the corner.

The nurses saw them coming with everything ready and out for them.

"How is he?" Cuddy asked when putting the long sleeve covering on that the nurses ran and got from the surgeon department.

"It looks like he passed out already," one of them said while making sure the gown is secure.

"He WHAT?"

Wilson looked at her terrified as he put his own gown on and strapped on the mask, while thinking that he might have been exposed too long.

"HOUSE!" Wilson screamed at the window.

"HOUSE!" Cuddy started banging on the window.

"Cuddy, your mask," one of the nurses said.

"I got it," Wilson told her, trying to reassure her that he wasn't going anywhere. He was already covered up. "House! House can you hear me!"

Cuddy was back at his side within a second. "House! DAMMIT WAKE UP!"

They were both pounding on the window trying to break it. "Get us something hard to break this!" Wilson called out to a nurse.

"Like what?"

"ANYTHING!" Cuddy screamed back. She wasn't satisfied with the nurses reaction.. "get, get the fire extinguisher!" The nurse ran back inside to get it. "House," she said softly looking at him laying in the corner of the room, as if he tried to get as far away as he could from the door, where the vial was dropped.

When the nurse returned she had the fire extinguisher and Foreman and Chase. "Oh, good, you guys gotta help!"

"Stand back!" Foreman had the fire extinguisher and slammed it into the window as hard as he could.

"It made a crack!" Cuddy shouted out. "Harder Foreman!" He did it again and it made the crack bigger.

"Here, let me try," Chase took it from him and took a couple steps back and rammed into the window as hard as he could and it broke it enough where they were able to clear some of the window away for them to go in safely without getting cut from the jagged edges that the break caused.

"You guys step away, you're not protected," Cuddy warned Foreman and Chase but they were already putting everything on they needed that the nurse grabbed for them before they came back outside.

"I'll go in and get him," Foreman announced when he was already halfway through.

Cuddy, Wilson, and Chase watched unblinking as Foreman hoisted him off the ground and carried him in his arms to the window like a hurt child. "Here, grab him, make sure he doesn't scrape on the glass. His skin looks like it started to get affected." Wilson and Chase both grabbed him from Foreman and got him out safely without causing more injury.

"We need to get him in lukewarm water, to get the gas off his skin!" Cuddy shouted. The nurses had a wheelchair on stand by and they all carefully placed him in and Cuddy took hold of the handles to wheel him. "Chase, get some fans in that room to air it out so it's not as strong." Chase nodded in understanding and ran passed them to get back inside.

"I'm bringing him up to the third floor, room twenty-two. There's a tub big enough for him." Cuddy rushed off with Wilson and Foreman on both sides of her, keeping up with her speed, and the nurses at her heels.

When they reached the third floor the nurses ran passed them to get the tub ready and full of water. "We need to strip him first," one of them said.

"I'll do it," Cuddy announced.

She stripped him down to his underwear and with Wilson and Foreman's help, they slowly placed him in the tub. "This should help him come to," Wilson said. "Then we'll be able to see how badly his eyes got irritated, also, check his lungs, and take it from there."

Cuddy stayed at the side of the tub, stroking his hair, while Wilson, Foreman, and the nurses, all waited in anticipation for him to wake up.

The door opened and a nurse from the lobby walked in. "Um, Cuddy, I'm sorry, but, they are asking for you down in the Clinic."

"I'll stay with him," Wilson told her as she looked fearful between Wilson and Foreman, silently telling them she didn't want to leave.

"So will I," Foreman added. "And I'll come down to tell you any updates."

Cuddy nodded, looked back at him and stroked his hair one last time. "Dammit, House," she mumbled and followed the nurse down to the Clinic..


	9. Chapter 9

Cuddy was at her desk in her office staring at her couch. Just a little over twenty-four hours ago he was laying there. Annoying her, but, he was safe. Now he was being treated for being exposed to a toxic gas. What if the damage was too much?

Foreman opened her door and slowly came in, and she stood up and walked around in front of her desk.

"So? What's going on? Is he awake? Is he talking? How's his breathing? His lungs? Please tell me he's making inappropriate jokes. Oh, God, and how are you? You went in there," she was looking at him wide eyed as he walked over to her and smiled and set his right hand on her shoulder to try and calm her down.

"I'm alright," she nodded, looking relieved and he continued. "We moved him to the next room, twenty-three. He's not making the inappropriate jokes yet. But, he is conscious, his eyes got irritated pretty bad so they are really red, his breathing isn't great but, it could be a lot worse. He's dry, in a clean gown, and the lukewarm water seemed to stop the effects that it was having on his skin. But, Wilson, the nurses and I, all agreed that he should probably stay in a hospital bed for the next forty-eight hours, just to make sure there are no complications that arise," Foreman took a breath. "And, when we told him this, he started demanding for you. He might try and talk you into letting him go, just wanted to warn you."

"Oh like hell he is."

Foreman smiled, relieved that House is okay, and entertained by how Cuddy insists that she doesn't care but everyone but her can see that she does. He left her office and closed the door behind him.

Cuddy opened the door to his room and saw Wilson's angry expression while House was no doubt arguing his side as to why he shouldn't stay. The noise of the door silenced him as he looked over. "Oh, good, Cuddy. Tell Wilson I don't need to stay under observation for the next forty-eight hours."

"You do," she walked over to his bed and tried to hide the concern about how red his eyes were. Foreman said they were irritated, but she wasn't expecting this. As if he could read her expression, he tilted his head and put eye drops in each eye and kept them squeezed tight for a couple of seconds before opening them back up. When he did, he looked at her.

"What happened to me doesn't affect my ability to diagnose patients. There's no reason why I have to be in a bed."

"Look at you, you might be a little upsetting to your patients if you were to treat them."

"How is that different? I upset them when I'm healthy!"

"I mean the shape you're in. No one wants to get treated by a Doctor that needs help himself-"

He pointed to his leg, "again, HOW IS THAT DIFFERENT?"

Wilson stood up out of his chair, "I'll let you handle this," he told Cuddy, then looked at House. "I'm glad you're okay," then he took a second to replay the last five minutes of House yelling at him to get his point across. "I think," he added then walked out.

"I would have thought that you would want me out of this bed and back to work as fast as I could." House continued the argument with Cuddy when he saw Wilson walk out the door and close it behind him.

"How do you figure that?" Cuddy asked, challenging him.

"You're the Dean of Medicine at this hospital again. Most people come here to see me. What would it look like for the hospital if people were getting treatment from other hospitals because I was stuck in here?"

Cuddy looked at him shocked and horrified. "Is that REALLY how you think I look at you? Just some key Doctor that keeps the patients coming, that helps us keep all our jobs? Gotta have him available ALL the time to keep this up!" she said as if she were announcing it to a group of people.

"Well, isn't it? Before you came back here you said that you're still mad at me. That you're coming back for you. Well, don't you want me out, working for you?"

She knew she said those words to him, but she never imagined in a situation like this he would throw it in her face. Use it against her like this. After all the panic he caused her today, he sat there, accusing her of not caring at all.

"Screw you, House," she got up about to leave but turned on her heel, not done talking. "You know, you claim you know everything. That you can diagnose someone by just LOOKING at them," she went back to where she was, but instead of standing near his bed, sat on the side of it and put her face inches away from his, forced him to look into her eyes.

"Why couldn't you see that when I came in here, I was worried about your well being? Did anyone tell you that I was out there with those other guys getting you out BECAUSE I was worried. That I DON'T see you as just a Doctor that works here. Or, is it you don't WANT to see it, so you decide to see the opposite just to PUSH people away from you and not let anyone in?"

"I LET you in before! AND LOOK HOW THAT WENT!"

She stood up off of his bed. "I only did it because you had to numb yourself up with Vicodin because you were too afraid to FEEL ANYTHING!"

"I THOUGHT YOU WERE DYING! You want me to let someone in? FINE! But don't expect me to run back to you! I've been through that pain before!"

They stared at each other, challenging each other to yell back. "Fine, House. You don't want it to be me, then I'll just leave you alone," she was trying to find a way to leave before he saw her break down in tears in front of him. She started walking to the door and turned around for one final statement.

"And DON'T think you're getting out of this bed before forty-eight hours is up!" She stormed through the door and was surprised to see Wilson in the hallway waiting to go back in. And the look on his face told her that he heard everything. "I'm fine, Wilson." She kept a fast pace to the nearest elevator and broke down crying when she got in the doors closed.

Wilson sighed, put his hand on the door and waited a second more before opening it to go back into the room and talk some sense back into House...


	10. Chapter 10

It has been four days since what happened in the Clinic.

Every time she came for the day, or left, she saw his motorcycle still there. Because he was too.

She never went back up to his room. As she said, she was going to stay away. But Wilson felt it his duty to keep her up to date. He had a setback with his breathing, so they kept him a little longer for observation, and he'll be back to work tomorrow.

That was yesterday.

She was trying to keep herself busy with paperwork. She tried waiting for him to come in so she could get that moment over with, but that just made time go by slower. So she opted to stay busy.

Her phone rang that she answered on the second ring, while still looking down at her desk. It was her old hospital asking if they can borrow a surgeon. They were short one, someone called in sick.

"Um, hang on, I think I have a copy of who is supposed to be here somewhere, to see who I can spare-" she bent down to look into a drawer when a bang hit against her door. She jumped in surprise and looked at the door and saw House who used his cane to knock and opened it when he saw her look up. "Can I call you back in a couple minutes?" He stood there waiting, staring at her. "Okay, thanks." She hung up and looked at him.

"I figured we should get this over with," House announced.

"Get what over with?" She responded coldly.

"Oh, I get it. You're all rigid because you're still thinking of that fight that we had last time I saw you," House answered.

"Oh, you mean about the one where I say I'll leave you alone and you let me walk out? That one? Yeah, I guess I am. What do you want, House?"

He breathed out deeply, let his head drop to point to the ground but raised his eyes to look at her. "You know I was just trying to get my way out of staying."

"What do you want, House? I have a phone call to return." She was trying to be as distant as she could but found it harder the longer he stood there staring at her.

"Aren't you even going to ask if I'm healthy enough to work?"

"What's the point? You'd probably just lie to me about it, even if you weren't."

"Wilson has been telling you."

"Maybe. But, how do you know it was Wilson? How do you know I didn't hear from someone else?"

"Because NOBODY BUT HIM AND MY NURSE WAS IN MY ROOM!"

She didn't break, she kept her face serious. "Whose fault is that?"

House slammed the bottom of his cane on the ground in frustration. "Dammit, Cuddy. Fine, I NEEDED you in there. You happy? Ever since you walked out the damn door I needed you!"

"No, House. I'm not happy," she she giving him a sad look, "I'm done. You said you were going to let someone in, go do it. YOU go be happy. I have work to do," she walked out of her office, leaving the door open for him and never gave him a second glance.

He got up to his office and sat down, staring at his door. She had to come up sometime and give him a patient. If he could do anything to perfection, it's waste time. So, that's exactly what he was set out to do.

His team was in the other room sitting around the table looking in on him, trying to decide if they should ask him if they can do anything for him.

"No," Chase said. "If we ask him now, he'll send us to do something stupid and degrading just because we asked him. When you see the look that he has now on his face, be thankful he's leaving you alone. We stay here until he gets us." They went back to awkwardly looking at him and each other, as they waited for something to happen.

House's stare was pulled away from a book he had open on his desk that he wasn't reading to the man in a suit he had never seen before walk in. "You Dr. House?"

"Depends on what you want?"

"Dr. Cuddy said you might say something like that," he started walking further into the room.

"Dr. Cuddy?"

"Yeah, she has a patient for you," he placed the file on his desk.

"She couldn't give it to me herself?"

"No, she said that she had other things to do, and that you seem to want the distance, so she was letting you get what you want." House looked at him angry. "Her words, not mine."

House looked down at the file to see what was wrong with the patient. "Should I tell her you'll take the case?" he asked innocently.

"Do I have a choice in the matter?" House snapped.

"I don't think so."

"Then yes, tell her I'll happily take the case. Because I'm HAPPY now."

The man walked out of the room and House's gaze lingered on his door, annoyed, then looked at his team who tried to quickly look away. He grabbed his cane and the file and walked into the room. "We have work to do."

Cuddy knew she probably should have went up to his office herself, but, she didn't want to see him yet. So, when the new Dean of Medicine from her old hospital stopped by to give her more supplies from their hospital that they were running low on in exchange for a surgeon, she asked him to do one little favor before he left.

Since then, her office was quiet. House hadn't come in once to ask her to okay anything. She saw him walk by a few of times to go into the Clinic to get a member of his team and a couple of those times, saw him quickly peek into her office, but that was it.

Around 3pm, she saw Wilson standing at the lobby desk without House and decided to go talk to him. "So, how's his patient doing?" She asked when she stood on his right.

"If you mean his patient, as in HOUSE'S patient, you can ask him yourself."

Cuddy scowled at him. "I can't do that. He made it clear he wants distance. So-"

Wilson scoffed. "So you're letting him have his way? When do you EVER do that? You guys argue more than anyone to avoid letting each other have what the other wants. You're worse than any married couple I've known."

"But we're NOT married. And, I've stopped caring. He clearly is still upset with me for what I did, so why try and fix things with him? You know he even tried to get me to believe that he NEEDED me when he was in observation?" she paused. "I bet you told him to say that."

Wilson looked at her thoughtful. "I... didn't. He told you that?"

Cuddy looked surprised. "Well, it doesn't matter. I'm done," she turned on her heel to walk back to her office.

"Yeah, I believe you," Wilson said in a sarcastic tone.

She turned and looked back at him, "oh shut up."

Then she heard it. The sound of something hit the railing by accident on the second level. She looked up and saw the heel of House's right foot, and the thing that made the noise: his cane. She went back into her office wondering how long he was standing there.

As he walked back to the elevator to go back to his office he knew he screwed up. He said the wrong thing, and it hit her harder than he expected. So, she has given up, he had to find a way to let go too.

It was coming close to 5:30, and Cuddy was gathering all her stuff to leave for the day. A day that definitely took its toll on her. She was exhausted from avoiding House, and sighed when she thought she had to do it all over again the next day.

She grabbed her coat from her chair, slipped it on and put her purse strap over her right shoulder when she saw House walk through the lobby with his backpack over his shoulder, also leaving.

She didn't want to have to walk out at the same time as him so watched him walk out first, but noticed something else.

He wasn't alone. He was with a woman.

She recognized her as a nurse that Foreman must have hired because she never worked with her. But, the reason she knew her was because she saw her as House's nurse when he was in observation. The day she went up there, she was on that floor.

House never looked in the direction of Cuddy's office. He kept his eye on the nurse and she was walking out with him.

Cuddy's heart felt heavy, regretting the words she said to him earlier. He was trying to let her go...


	11. Chapter 11

Cuddy got to work earlier than usual. She wanted to get a good start on the day, and to hopefully, leave early to not have to witness House walking out with his nurse again. It bothered her more than she thought it would.

She went to bed that night after seeing them at a quarter to eleven, but didn't fall asleep until an hour later. She kept wondering about him. What he was doing, who he was doing whatever he was doing with; but hoped he was alone. She was even trying to think of a reason to call him to see if she could make anything out in the background but stopped herself. She was being stupid; territorial of someone who she couldn't put her territory on anymore.

House wasn't HER House. He was just House. A co-worker. Fellow Doctor, nothing else. The more she tried to convince herself of this, the less it was working.

So before she came in she made a run to the nearest coffee shop to get the biggest sized coffee they had. She needed the extra energy that the lack of sleep deprived her of.

She entered her office at 7:38 and sat down, and placed her coffee on her right and started her day with the noise level in the hospital low, and the sun at an angle that shined brightly through the lobby door. She felt like she was there alone.

At 10:42, Cuddy saw House walk through the lobby and without a glance in her direction went straight to the elevator doors. She at least expected him to come in and see if he had a patient waiting. But, he didn't even do that. All those thoughts of what he might be doing the night before were coming back to her. Then she saw the nurse walk in a minute later. They had to of come in together. She thought it too coincidental that they come to work at the same time without it being with each other.

She had to face him eventually to give him the patient, but, she decided on waiting fifteen minutes. She didn't want him to notice that she noticed when he came in. So she would go up casually.

Ten minutes passed and she grabbed his file and stood up when House walked through her door.

"I was just coming up to see you. I have a patient," House looked down and took it from her. "Is that what you were coming down here for? To see if you had one?"

"No. Can I have a nurse?"

"What?"

"A nurse. To go along with my team. She can do what my team doesn't want to do, and what I don't want to do. So, can I add one?"

"No," she said automatically.

"But, did you hear my reasoning? I think it's a pretty valid request."

"And what, you, have a nurse in mind, or do I have to find one for you?" she asked playing his game, seeing what she can get out of him from it.

"I have one in mind. The one that took care of me," he smiled, "can you believe that she started working here BECAUSE I was here? How can I not have her with me?"

Cuddy wished he didn't say the last part the way he did. She bit the inside of her cheek to keep from losing it in front of him. "No, I'm sorry, but you can't have her."

He squinted his eyes and studied her, "you're not sorry," he turned to walk away. "Now how am I going to explain that she can't work with me over dinner tonight?" he called over his shoulder, walking out and closing the door behind him.

"Who are you having dinner with tonight?" Wilson asked who was making his way to the elevator, catching the last part of what House said.

"No one, what does Cuddy's expression look like?"

Wilson looked passed House casually. "Shocked, maybe a little hurt," Wilson looked straight ahead, "I heard you tell Cuddy that you are having dinner-"

"Yeah, I told her I was having dinner with my nurse tonight."

"But, you're not?"

"Nope. I just want her to think that. She wants me to be happy, so, I'm happy," House hit the button for the elevator with the bottom of his cane, that opened a second later.

"I think she meant, to be happy WITH someone. But you aren't," they stepped into the elevator and the doors closed them in, away from everyone else.

"Yeah, I know. But, this makes me happy too."

"Toying with her emotions?"

House looked at him shocked. "You make it sound so mean!" The elevator reached their office floor and they both stepped out. "It's great too, Melissa, my nurse, is helping me. She walked out with me yesterday and I asked if she could come in when I did; which, she did."

"To make it seem like you left and came in with one another?" Wilson commented, putting the pieces together.

"Yeah," House said pleased, with Wilson following him to his office, not done with the conversation.

"What happens if SHE starts dating people?"

House scoffed, "yeah! 'Cause that's what she's going to do." House opened his office door and Wilson chose that moment to walk away, thinking House might be pressing his luck.

Before Cuddy went home at 4:05, she stopped by House's adjoining room to his office and saw Taub texting, Chase looking at the board full of symptoms, and House sitting at the head of the table furthest from the entrance with a magazine in front of his face.

"What are you guys doing?" she asked.

"Doctoring," House answered, still having the magazine blocking view of her.

"Nooo, you aren't."

House bent half of the left side of the magazine over to look for himself and saw that none of them weren't being productive at all. "Chase looks convincing, and, well, the women are. They aren't here," he straightened the magazine back out to cover himself again. "What do you want?"

"Actually, nothing from you. I'm here to ask Chase a favor."

House bent the magazine back over and saw Chase shift his position to face her. "What is it?"

"Are you busy tonight?"

"No, what's the favor?"

"Can you watch Rachel for me for a couple hours?" Cuddy looked at him with a pleading look.

"Um, yeah, sure, I guess. I'll be home at eight, is that alright?"

"PERFECT! It shouldn't be any longer than a couple hours."

"Alright," Chase looked back at the board and House stared at Cuddy who was halfway out the door.

"What, you have a date?" he called out to her.

She stopped short and looked at him, "yeah. I do."

She walked in the direction of Wilson's office, using the elevator closest to his, and felt House's gaze never leaving her until she was out of view trying to tell if she was bluffing...


	12. Chapter 12

"You told her what I was doing!" House stormed into Wilson's office, who looked at him confused.

"I told her what?"

House was starting to pace but stopped in front of him, grabbed his thigh and popped a couple pills before continuing. "You told Cuddy what I was up to, and now she's acting like SHE has a date tonight!"

Wilson leaned back and crossed his arms over his chest. "You don't say. You know, I asked you what you would do if this were to happen and you didn't seem too concerned about it." Wilson sat back up to close the file he had open and was reading a second ago.

"So, I was right. You DID tell her!"

"No, I didn't." House leaned his face inches away from Wilson's and was scanning it. "House, what are you doing?"

"Trying to tell if you're lying," he circled his head around to get better angles of Wilson's.

"And, what are you seeing?"

"That you...aren't." House backed away and moved over to his couch and sat down. "So she's DATING now? Just because I threw one person in her face? She REALLY fell for that?"

"Yooouuu did lay it on pretty convincingly."

House stared straight ahead in thought, and was silent for a few seconds. "Do you have any idea who the guy might be?" House asked him.

"Uh, her ex, maybe? From the other hospital?"

House looked over at him disapprovingly with that answer. "No, that guy's a moron. She knows that now. She wouldn't go back to him." He continued to look straight ahead, back in thought. "It has to be someone who she could call up at the last minute to ask out-so someone she's comfortable with-" he looked over at Wilson in shock. "What are YOU doing tonight?"

"It's not me," Wilson said, who started opened the file back up and started reading it.

House stayed on the couch for a couple minutes then stood up and headed for the door.

"What are you going to do?"

He looked at Wilson with his hand on the door knob. "Nothing. She may be throwing it in my face to get me to act this way. So, I'm not. I'm not going to care," he walked out and closed the door behind him.

Chase opened the door and saw Cuddy with Rachel. "Thank you so much for this, Chase. I promise I won't be too long. She's already tired, so all you really have to do is just, let her sleep. She sometimes gets thirsty, so make sure she has water close by and that's it really."

"Okay, got it."

After some more instructions for Chase, Cuddy left and went out on her date.

Twenty minutes later, Chase's phone rang seeing House's name on the caller ID. "House, I can't come in, Rachel was just dropped off here and-"

"I know. I'm not calling you about work."

"Oh," Chase gave a confused look to the room. "Then, why are you calling?"

"When Cuddy dropped Rachel off, did she say where she was going?"

"Nnnoo, but, she left a number to the place. She said that she was going to have her cell phone on vibrate so if I needed her and couldn't reach her that way to call it."

"Great, what is it?"

"What are you up to, House?" Chase asked suspiciously.

"Who cares what I'm up to, what's the number?"

"Why should I give it to you?" he challenged.

"You want me to FIRE you? I've done it before."

Chase caved, "alright, hang on," he reached over to the piece of paper she jotted it down on, barely recognizable compared to her usual handwriting, being in a rush. "Okay, it's 555-1882."

"Good, thanks." House hung up.

He reread the number after he slipped his cell phone in his pocket. He knew that number. It was to a pizza place he took Cuddy to one night after they both worked late and was starving. She had never been so told her he HAD to take her there or no sex. Although, that threat always worked better on him, he gave it a shot. She laughed and agreed to going.

That night they sat in the corner window booth and when House reached over to grab the shaker that held the cheese it dumped all over him, the cover not being tightened. She laughed the hardest he ever saw her laugh and before they left, she called it 'their place.'

And she was going there with some other guy. Some faceless guy. He had to know who it was. He grabbed his jacket and keys and got on his motorcycle and rode over there without thinking twice about what could happen if he were caught.

He got there within ten minutes and parked around the corner to not draw any attention to the noise his motorcycle was causing. He kept close to the wall, knowing that if they were anywhere near the window and he didn't stay close to the shadow of the building his limp might give him away no matter how dark it was.

He stopped and leaned against the window when he spotted her and the people were looking at him who were sitting at the table next to where he chose to hide and he waved his hand in annoyance to tell them to get back to their food.

They were sitting in the same booth that they sat at the first night they were there. He looked at the guy, and he didn't recognize him. Wilson became officially in the clear. He was talking. Saying something that he looked completely into. House decided he was talking about himself. He wanted this guy to be an ass. A self-loving ass who goes on and on about stupid things that he does that really amounts to nothing.

Then, he looked at Cuddy. It looked like she wasn't listening which he grinned about. But then, he realized something. She wasn't just not listening, but she also looked sad. He saw that her left arm was on the table, his gaze followed it to where her hand was. She had her hand resting on the cheese shaker.

In that moment it all became clear to him. She thought he was on a date with someone else, so she was going on one too, at their place, sitting at their booth, as she had her hand on the shaker that made her laugh.

She was thinking of him.

He let out a heavy sigh, turned back around to go to where he parked his motorcycle, kept his head down facing the ground and went home...


	13. Chapter 13

House came into work the next morning a little later than his usual. Partly, because he didn't know how to face Cuddy after seeing what he saw the night before, and the other partly, he just didn't want to get out of bed. But when he did show up at ten minutes before noon, and he went into her office.

"You're late," she said annoyed as she continued to write in a file in front of her.

"I know," he took a seat on her chair next to the couch that was facing her desk and put his feet up on her table.

"So, you came in here just to show me how late you are? You want a prize?" she asked sarcastically.

"How was your date last night?"

She put her pen down and looked at him. "It was fine."

"Just fine?" he was looking at his cane that he was twirling in his right hand instead of at her. "You going to see him again?" he asked, his twirling continuing.

"Probably not."

"Well, I think it's a shame that you aren't happy with him because-" he glanced at her mid-sentence, stopped his twirling, held it in place in front of him and stared. He lowered his cane, and looked more thoughtful and tilted his head to the left.

"House, what are doing?" she looked behind her quickly to see if he was looking at anything there and just looked like he was looking at her, but that wasn't the case. He WAS looking at HER. "House."

He lowered his legs to the floor, and stood up, walking over to her without a word. She stared back at him as his look seemed to get more intense the closer he got, but knew it was just the deep blue in his eyes getting closer that made it look that way. She got lost in his eyes more times than she can count. She was trying so hard to fight it this time.

He grabbed the right armrest to her chair and shifted it to face him. To have HER face him. And he bent down close. "Close your eyes."

"What? Why?" she asked starting to get nervous about where this was going, and how she felt about it.

"Don't be a moron," he said softly, not having to speak any louder than a whisper from where he was. "Close your eyes," he repeated.

She did.

She sensed him so close, unknowing of what was about to happen. Angry with herself for wanting him to kiss her; hoping he'd kiss her.

She felt his thumb touch the corner of her right eyebrow, and his pointer finger next to it. "You didn't feel that?" he asked.

She opened her eyes back up and saw his face no more than half an inch away from hers, and in between them, his left hand that held a strand of hair that was trapped in the grasp of his thumb and finger.

"No," she said looking into his eyes, which he locked with hers.

She couldn't help but remember the moment they were as close to each other as they are now, and happy. It was the morning she thought something was wrong. Thought that she might be sick. He was under the bed and she sat down next to him on the floor to kiss him; cradling his head in her arm. That seemed so long ago now. They have grown so far apart. Despite working together and seeing him now in front of her, he felt miles away. She doubted they would ever get back to that happiness. If they could even if they tried.

But, he was still looking at her; still close, and that made her wonder if he was wondering the same thing. If they tried... his cell phone rang in his pocket.

He straightened up from leaning down to face her, breaking the eye contact, and answered while backing away, going back to the chair he sat in when he came in.

"What is it?" he asked sitting, still looking at her from across the room, still holding her strand of hair.

"Well can't you tell her that you guys are just as good- no, close to just as good as me combined? That I don't need to be there?" he paused. "Alright. Be right up."

He disconnected and slipped his phone back in his pocket, looking back at her who remained silent. "I have to go. My patient wants me," he stood up, and looked at his left hand, placing the hair on the table.

"Thank you," she called out, and he looked back at her with a questioning look. "For the hair."

He nodded, "you're welcome," he answered and walked out of her office closing the door behind him.

His patient wanted him, and in that moment, so did she...


	14. Chapter 14

House didn't know what to make of what just happened. He wanted to stay. See what was going on with her. He wanted to tell her he DIDN'T see the nurse. He had it all planned out when he went into her office. He was going to ask her how her date went and then launch into what a failure his date was; because it didn't happen.

He ran the risk of her not believing him. But, he wanted to take that risk. Something in the way he saw her looking last night; and the way she was looking into his eyes just now.

He could have swore he felt something there.

She said she didn't care anymore. She told him that and overheard her tell Wilson that. But, how many times has she lied to both of them just to keep them off her back about something?

He was torn away from his thoughts when the elevator door opened and saw his team anxiously waiting for him to appear.

"Has anyone ever told any of you that you come off as a little needy?"

Chase scoffed, "WE are needy?"

"I was busy," House stated irritated that he had to come up.

"Well then, complain to the patient, not us. She's the one who wants you," Chase responded.

As they were making their way down the hall, closer to their patient, House spotted Wilson coming out of one of his patient's rooms. "Hey Wilson," House called out and started walking over to him, Wilson looking over.

"House, your patient has been waiting-" Taub started.

"Stall for me," House answered, looking over at Taub standing there blankly. "You can do it. I'll be five, ten minutes. She's not going anywhere," House looked back at Wilson and started walking in the direction he just came from to go wherever Wilson was going.

"She wanted me to kiss her," House announced when their walking caught sync with each other.

"Your patient?"

"No," House paused. "Well, maybe her too. I don't know the REAL reason behind why she is demanding to see me."

"Right, couldn't just be because you're her Doctor and she's worried about her health," Wilson stated. "So, if it's not your patient then, WHO wanted you to kiss her?"

House looked at him with a smirk, "you can't tell me you can't honestly make a guess before I tell you?"

"Well, it can't be Cuddy, so-" House's smirk turned into an 'atta boy expression. "CUDDY? How? When? Why?"

"I think there should be a 'where' in there somewhere."

"House!"

They reached Wilson's office and both went inside so House can tell him all about what happened.

"Are you the one in charge of all the Doctors here?" a tall blonde woman with a low cut dress even in Cuddy's opinion asked her when she entered her office.

"Yes, I'm the Dean of Medicine, what can I help you with?"

"My sister is a patient of a Dr. House, and she has been wanting to see him for the last few hours and I was told he finally came into work but, he has yet to come see her."

"He's not there yet? I saw him go up there twenty minutes ago. Or, he should have," Cuddy stated when grabbing her cell phone to call him.

"Well, he isn't there. I don't know what's so GREAT about this guy. She insisted we come to him, only he's nowhere to be found!"

Cuddy smiled politely, trying to keep her temper down. "I'm calling him right- House, where are you?" she asked angrily.

"Um, what's the right answer to this question?"

"Your patient's room! Her sister is in my office right now demanding you get in there!" she hoped the angry tone she was using would help get him there quicker.

"Her sister's there?" there was silence coming from his end.

"House-"

"Okay, tell her sister I'll be there in five minutes. Tell her I'm a cripple, that's how long it takes me to get from the end of the hallway."

"Be there now." Cuddy hung up and went back to smiling. "He should be there as soon as you get up there."

"Thank you," she said walking out of her office.

Cuddy thought of what House's reaction would be when he saw the woman that was just here. She knows how House reacts to women wearing low cut things, he has made it clear to her time and time again whenever she wore something low cut. A part of her wished the sister wasn't there when House finally got around to showing up...


	15. Chapter 15

"What are you going to do about Cuddy? Do you still have feelings for her?" Wilson asked when House hung up the phone.

"Iiiiiiii, think I do. But, it doesn't matter. She says she's still mad at me."

"Maybe. Maybe not."

House studied Wilson. "What do you mean?"

"Maybe being around you again changed her mind."

"Well, she's going to have to tell ME that."

"Or, you can open up to her," Wilson suggested.

"Yeah," House answered sarcastically. "Because I AM the touchy-feely type."

"If you want her back..ONE of you has to say something if you are right about thinking she wanted you to kiss her."

"That one can be her," House got up and walked to the door. "Gotta go check on a patient now."

"You better not be using your patient as an excuse to get out of talking about this!" Wilson shouted to him as he walked out the door.

"Hi, I'm Dr. House, I hear you have been calling out my name. Most women patients do," he smirked at his patient who stared back at him in shock. "YOU'RE Dr. House?" she asked as he walked over to her. "Yeah," he started listening to her heart. "Is it the fact that I'm a cripple throwing you off?" She blushed a little embarrassed. "I get that a lot." He pulled away from her. "So what's wrong with you?"

"I was hoping you could tell me that."

The patient's sister walked in with a cup of coffee in her hand. "So you are him? Took you long enough to get here," she commented. He smiled to himself at the sight of her and decided to stick around and do his job instead of making the quick appearance like he planned and having his team take over.

He eventually finished with his patient, taking a little longer than expected due to the distraction of her sister, but, he was done.

She was diagnosed and was going to be sent home. He headed towards the elevator to not only tell Cuddy that he in fact DID listen to her and went into the patient's room, but he fixed her too. Win-win.

He smiled to himself about to boast as he opened the door dramatically, only, saw Foreman instead of Cuddy. House looked around the office. "Where is she?"

"You mean Cuddy?"

"No, I'm playing hide and seek with Park. This is the last place I'm checking."

Foreman raised his right eyebrow at him. "She came in and got me in the surgeons area. Said she had some kind of emergency to get to, and if I can cover the rest of the day for her."

House's expression got serious. "Did she say what kind of emergency?"

"Didn't ask. Figured if she wanted me to know, she would tell me."

"You would make a terrible detective," House scowled at Foreman, grabbed his cell phone from his pocket and left the office, selecting Cuddy's number, hovering in the lobby.

"House, whatever you have to tell me, tell Foreman, he's me for the rest of the day." Cuddy said when she answered, knowing it was House calling because of the ID.

"Mmmm, no. He doesn't look quite as good in a skirt. What's the emergency?"

"What?" he heard sounds of traffic in the background which was making it hard to hear him.

"WHAT'S THE EMERGENCY?" House drew attention to himself, everyone looking in his direction that he ignored.

"I'm on my way to Rachel's school. They were about to go on a field trip and Rachel got sick on the bus while waiting for it to leave. So I'm going there to pick her up and bring her home and-" Cuddy stopped talking and House heard the sound of a collision coming from her end.

"Cuddy?" House felt his heart increase in beats. "CUDDY?"

No answer.

"Shit! Foreman! I'm leaving!"

Foreman ran out of the office. "Where are you going, House?" he asked angrily.

"I was on the phone with Cuddy, sounded like she had an accident!" he screamed over his shoulder at him. Foreman said nothing more, just stood there with feelings of fear himself, watching as House frantically walked to the elevator cursing his leg for not allowing him to go as fast as he wanted to, and that brought Foreman into action. "What do you need, House?" he asked when he saw he was gripping his leg in pain, waiting for the elevator.

"My keys! Get my keys!"He popped some Vicodin to help ease the pain he just triggered.

Foreman nodded and went up for House to retrieve what he needed. No longer than a minute later he was back with his keys, helmet and jacket. He gave them to House and he turned around and headed out the lobby door as fast as he could..


	16. Chapter 16

House went riding all over in every different route he could think of to get from the hospital to Rachel's school. The third one he tried, he saw an ambulance go in the same direction. He turned his motorcycle a little too close to the street and screamed in agony when he felt his lower right leg being scraped.

When he turned that corner he saw her car and it almost made him sick. The impact came from the passenger side but went so far in, he knew she had to of gotten hurt. The ambulance got there before he did and saw as the Paramedics were carrying her out of the driver's side and laid her on what they had waiting.

"Wait!" House screamed as loud as he could, stopping his motorcycle, tearing off his helmet, hanging it on the right handle, and got off of it as fast as he could without causing more injury to his leg.

The Paramedics looked over at him and he saw that Cuddy was awake and when she saw them look over she followed their glances and saw him limping over without his cane. "House," she mumbled, only loud enough for the Paramedic on the left side of her to hear.

"You're House?" he asked.

"Yeah, why?" he questioned when he watched them lift her in the back of the ambulance.

"She was requesting to be brought to you," the guy answered. The two Paramedics got in after they lifted her in, and House was trying to get in himself, and the guy who hasn't said anything yet spoke up.

"Hey, we can't let you in here," he said noticing the blood on his right leg. "You're hurt," he pointed out to him.

"Don't be a moron, she was asking for me. You think she DOESN'T want me in there? And yeah, sure, my legs bleeding, shouldn't that warrant me a ride?"

The Paramedic looked at him suspiciously, but saw the angry look on his face and felt Cuddy grab his sleeve, "I want him in here," she said.

"See, there!" House screamed when hearing her. "Let me in!"

Both of them helped House up, seeing his slight struggle with his leg and they both sat on the right side of Cuddy while House sat on her left.

"Why didn't you answer me when I called your name on the phone if you weren't unconscious?" House demanded.

"I had you on speaker, the impact made the phone fly from where I had it. I tried to answer," she said weakly.

"Where do you hurt?" he asked accepting that as an answer.

"My right leg, mostly. Some back pain. My right rib too. Calling the ambulance was the only way I knew how to get to you. Have them drive me over to you."

House looked up near the front of the ambulance, "where are you going? This isn't the way," he shouted out to the driver.

"There's a hospital a mile from here. We're going there," the driver answered back.

"No, we're not. She said she wanted to come to me, which means, she wanted to go to our hospital, which ISN'T the one you are going to. Turn around and go to Princeton-Plainsboro."

The driver didn't argue, just turned the ambulance around which House grabbed onto the side of what Cuddy was laying on to steady her and himself. She looked down at his right leg.

"You're bleeding," she told him when she saw him look at her leg; the one she said hurt.

"Shut up, I'm not the one who got in an accident."

"You did something," she retorted back.

"What else is new," he answered while she watched him tilt his head in all directions while examining her.

"House."

"Yeah?" he asked looking back up her.

"Can you call my sister? Tell her what happened and ask if she could get Rachel? She's still waiting to be picked up."

House leaned back to grab his cell phone out of his right jean pocket. She watched as he scrolled through his phone to look for her sister's number. By watching him do that, it made Cuddy realize that he never deleted her from his contact list. Even after they broke up, and all the time that passed, he still had her family in his phone. He hit call and put the phone up to his ear and looked back down at Cuddy.

"Where's your cane?" she asked, looking around him.

"Forget the cane," he answered. The truth behind it was he was so focused on what was happening to her that he ran over without it, not wanting to waste anymore time he already wasted just getting to her.

He started talking into the phone when her sister picked up and Cuddy put out her left hand and started waving it around close to House's hand, while looking at it, trying to grab onto it without telling him she wanted it and interrupt his talking. He watched her do this and extended his and grabbed onto hers and squeezed it. She looked up at him who was looking back at her. While he did, she was thankful that he was with her...


	17. Chapter 17

House never let go of Cuddy's hand the whole way there.

The driver stopped and came around the side to open the doors for House and the Paramedics. "Okay," House stated when looking passed the driver seeing the hospital behind him and looked back at Cuddy who never took her eyes off him. "Should I get a room ready for you or-"

"You need to get your leg looked at."

"But, the Paramedics said you asked for ME. Why do you want to see someone else now?" he questioned as the Paramedics got out, getting ready to bring her into the hospital.

"That was before I knew you were hurt," she called out to him as she was being moved out of the ambulance. "Come find me when you get it taken care of," she continued.

"I'll take care of it later," he said following them and looked into a patient room that they were passing and saw an old man sleeping with a cane next to his bed. House looked straight ahead, seeing where they were bringing Cuddy and slipped into the room, examined the cane, looked back at the patient and took the cane with him.

He walked into Cuddy's room, waiting in the doorway to let the Paramedics leave and took the stool and wheeled it close to her and sat down.

"House, you need to get that leg looked at," her eyes stayed on his leg, seeing that the blood has seeped through his jeans.

"I have a cane now, all better. Now where exactly does YOUR leg hurt? Here?" He steered the conversation off himself and onto her and lightly placed his hand close to her ankle.

"It's a little sore there, but that's not where the worst of it is." She watched as he had a serious expression on his face. He reminded her of what she called him once before, 'House the professional,' as he looked around for any bruising that indicates where the worst of it is.

"Alright, I'm going to feel around your leg, tell me when I hit the spot," he said as he put his hand on her foot to position it on his left thigh to rest it.

"Okay," she answered him.

Once he had her foot where he wanted it, he started to poke softly with his fingers all over, on each side and in the back, looking for the bad area. There was something comforting she felt out of him doing that. His head was following his fingers, looking in all the areas he was touching. Then he reached just above her knee.

"Ouch! There!"

He moved his eyes to look at her and poked in the same spot, "here?"

"Yeah," she said in a strained voice, in pain.

He looked on the outside part of her leg and didn't see any dark color around the spot so carefully moved her leg to open her sitting position. "Sorry, I have to do this," he said as he stuck his head between her legs to look at her inner leg.

"You're not sorry," she said, trying to play back with him, but her voice still sounded strained.

"I see some swelling here," he announced, his head still in between her legs which he lingered there for a few seconds longer than turned to look at her left leg.

"That one doesn't hurt, House."

"You can never be too sure," he answered, moving his eyes up to look at her then sat up himself and closed her legs.

"I want to get an x-ray to see what we're really dealing with. You said your rib and back hurts too?" She nodded. "Let me see," he said when lifting her shirt far enough to see her rib cage. "There is some bruising on your ribs, looks like a little trailing to your back, that explains the pain," he lowered her shirt.

"Can I get a wheelchair in here?" House shouted outside the door and Melissa the nurse came in with it and smiled at House before she turned away and left it in the room.

"How are you guys doing?" Cuddy asked trying to get herself in the wheelchair, suddenly feeling like the third wheel. House went over to her left, the side that isn't bruised and helped her in.

"There is no 'us.' Never was."

Cuddy then realized that it was all a game he was playing with her. She should have been mad that he was toying with her like that, and normally she would be. But, now, she was happy, thankful that it wasn't true. The third wheel feeling immediately went away.

"I could do it," she said, grabbing onto the the grips on the wheels to wheel herself.

"Don't be a moron. Your ribs are bruised, along with your back. You think that movement won't affect it?"

She silently put her hands in her lap and House wheeled her all the way to x-ray. He stopped a couple times to take some Vicodin but, she kept her mouth shut about it. He was there with her, and he was in pain because of the cut which he wouldn't say how he got, but knew it had to be something to do with her. So, she wasn't going to get on his case about any of it. She just hoped when she gets taken care of, he takes care of himself.

When the x-ray was done they discovered that she had a bone fracture. They went back to the room so House could put a cast on it, and they were greeted by Julia, her sister.

"Hi, where's Rachel?" Cuddy asked when seeing her.

"She's with Mom. I called and told her that House called and told me what happened. So she came over to watch her so I can check up on you."

Cuddy smiled, "thank Mom for me," she said when House silently helped her back up to get back on the bed for patients.

Julia noticed House's leg, and looked up at him. "So you were the distraction? You were talking to her on the phone when this happened? You know, you seem to be at the heart of all her misery within the last year. So I really don't know why-"

"This wasn't his fault," Cuddy interrupted. "Because he was on the phone he knew I needed help and-"

"Why are you ALWAYS defending him? You can't tell me he's always been so great to you. I was there Lisa. I saw what he did to your house. And now you're back working here? With him?" she looked away from Cuddy and back at House who was taking everything in without a word. "I don't want you here. I want my sister to have someone else."

Cuddy watched as House didn't argue. He didn't try and defend himself. He instead looked from Julia back to her. "I'll have Foreman come in and put on that cast."

And House was gone. Cuddy looked at her sister. "You shouldn't have done that. I wanted him to be my Doctor. I know you're looking out for me. But, he knows I'm still mad at him for everything he has done. That doesn't change the fact that he is the best Doctor here."

"I'm sorry, Lisa. But I just didn't want to see him. I'm not okay with what he did."

Cuddy didn't say another word on the subject. The topic was changed when her sister asked if she got all the information on the guy who did this, which she did, then Foreman appeared in the room.

He put a cast on her and when that was done, he wrote a prescription for pain meds. "House told me you might want these, for your ribs and back," he commented when he tore the paper off his pad. "Your sister can fill them, you just sit here and rest. We won't be kicking you out. You leave when you're ready."

After Cuddy and her sister thanked him, Cuddy's gaze followed him as he walked out and saw House was leaning up against the corner of the nurses station near her room. He was out of view of her sister, but Cuddy was able to see him. She watched as Foreman stopped to talk to him, and House looked over his shoulder, at Cuddy and he was nodding when Foreman was giving him the update of what he did.

"I'll get your prescription," her sister commented, heading toward the door which House saw and to not get caught hanging around her room turned and walked down the hall away from them to make it seem like he was just walking through. Cuddy watched him go, wishing he didn't have to...


	18. Chapter 18

Cuddy took a couple of days off of work. She wasn't in too much pain thanks to the prescription that House advised, but, it was mostly to nurse Rachel back to health. She wanted to call House. To thank him for being there when she needed him. To tell him that she ended up fighting with her sister on his behalf.

That she didn't realize, despite all the bad stuff, good stuff was there too. That she's trying to focus on that right now. And plus, Rachel likes him. Julia apologized for getting in the way of things, not knowing how much in that moment Cuddy wanted him there. But Julia also noticed that House did listen to her when she told him to leave. So, maybe there was something in what Cuddy was telling her. But, Cuddy decided to not bother him. To tell him face to face when she came back to work.

The accident happened on Wednesday, and it was now the following Tuesday. Cuddy got ready as fast as having a cast on her leg would let her and got into work at 9:00, knowing she would have to wait at least an hour and a half before House even considered to come in.

Not soon after she sat down at her desk, a Doctor whom she'd never seen before came into her office. "Hi, you're Lisa Cuddy, right?"

"Yeah, what can I help you with?" she said with a smile, looking forward to when House enters like this guy just did. Only, not so polite.

"I was told to come to you instead of Dr. Foreman, to see if you have any patients for me."

Cuddy started scanning her desk. "You just start here yesterday I take it? Word of warning, we have a Doctor here who likes to pick on people for fun, so, I wouldn't take him too seriously. If you are thick skinned, you'll be fine. He's pretty easy to spot. He wears whatever isn't on the list of acceptable clothing to piss ME off, and he walks around with a cane."

"Oh...you mean, Dr. House?"

Cuddy smiled, "yeah."

"Uh, no one told you yet?" he asked nervously.

Cuddy looked up from going through files on her desk that go to different departments, waiting to hear what department he is from. "Dr. House is who I took over for. I met up with him Friday, and his last day was yesterday."

She couldn't believe what she just heard. He had to of put this guy up to it. A 'welcome back prank.' "You're joking, right?"

"No, I'm not," he said, standing there awkwardly as Cuddy was staring over his shoulder into the lobby waiting for House to show up at any second with a smirk on his face. But, she wasn't seeing him. "Should I come back later?"

"No, I'm sorry, no." She found a patient file that she intended on giving to House when he came in. "Here," she held it out, and seeing her cast, went over to the desk and took it from her hand and thanked her, walking out.

She couldn't go a whole day without knowing what was going on. She knew she could have found Foreman and asked him, but she wanted to hear it from House.

House was sitting on his couch, a paper towel with crumbs on it from his peanut butter sandwich he finished an hour ago sitting on his coffee table, and next to it, a mug that held scotch instead of coffee. He had been up for hours already. He couldn't fall asleep the night before, so doped himself up, hoping he would get a full nights sleep. But he didn't. He only managed to get three hours.

He was staring lifeless at the TV screen when his cell phone rang that was sitting on the table next to him. He saw the name displaying was Cuddy. He knew why she was calling. He set it back down, unanswered, not wanting to face her.

A few seconds after the ringing stopped, an alert sounded for a voice mail. He didn't pick it up to listen to it. Instead, he leaned forward and poured more scotch into his mug and took a gulp of it.

Next, his home line rang. He knew who was. He stayed where he was.

His machine was triggered to play his outgoing message: "If you are hearing this now, it means I don't want to talk to you. So hang up. Leaving a message won't do you any good. I won't return it," then the beep.

He turned his head to look at the machine to see if she would leave a message on there too.

"House. C'mon. Answer the phone. I just saw your replacement in my office. What is going on? Call me back. We need to talk."

House looked back toward the TV, looked down at his mug of scotch and grabbed his Vicodin bottle that was next to his cell phone. He opened it and dumped two in his right hand. He looked down at his right leg which was exposed, having cut his jean pant leg that he hasn't changed out of since yesterday, now having one side look like a pair of shorts that went to his knee to help air out his now infected leg. He dumped a couple more in his hand and popped them in, then picked up his mug to wash them down...


	19. Chapter 19

A few hours later House heard a knock on his door. He was still in the same spot. He only moved to use the bathroom when needed and to get more scotch. He wasn't looking beyond the afternoon and didn't care what came of it.

The knock continued.

"Dammit, House! I know you're in there! Answer the door!"

It hurt him hearing the concern in Cuddy's voice. Even when he was trying to stay away from her, he was hurting her.

"Go away Cuddy!" he shouted through the door.

"No! I remember where you hide your spare key, I WILL open it myself!" she threatened.

"Shit," he mumbled to himself and got up and opened the door. The first thing that hit him was the panic in her face, and then the cast.

"You went for the walking cast?"

"Foreman thought it would be better. Easier to get around in."

He nodded, "that's good. Now go," he started to close the door on her but she put her hand out to stop it and came inside closing it behind her, getting a good look at him.

"Oh, House," she said sympathetically, being able to tell he was drunk. Then her gaze went down to his infection. "You never got it looked at?" She bent down the best she could to get a closer look, "you didn't even clean it."

"It's fine. Can you please go away now?" he asked trying to keep his cool.

She straightened her stance and looked at him straight in the eye. "Not until you tell me why you decided to leave the hospital."

"You mean you really don't know? DO l HAVE TO SPELL EVERYTHING OUT FOR YOU?"

His outburst caught her off guard even though she knows it shouldn't have. The way he looked right now, she should have been surprised he wasn't yelling since the moment he opened the door.

"Yes! Maybe I do!" she screamed back.

"When your sister said those things-"

"My sister was wrong."

"NO SHE WASN'T! She was right about EVERYTHING! Shit, Cuddy! Can't you see that? I WAS the one that caused you misery after we broke up!-Before we were even together I caused you misery! I don't want to be that guy anymore! I should have talked you OUT of coming back when you said you were thinking about it. But the selfish bastard that I am just wanted you close, so kept my mouth shut. But if I did- DAMMIT!" His eyes started to look glossy and took a breath before continuing.

"If you hadn't come back then you wouldn't have been coming from the direction you were coming from to get Rachel and you WOULDN'T have that cast on right now! Hell, Rachel probably wouldn't be GOING to that school if you hadn't come back!"

Cuddy was mad at her sister for doing this. She was mad at herself for asking him to call her. "House," she slowly reached out and touched his face and held eye contact with him. "This is NOT your fault. You didn't get Rachel sick, you weren't driving my car, you weren't the guy that hit me. You clearly need the rest of this day off, but tomorrow, I want to see you at work at 10-"

"I'm not going back. I'm not going to keep doing this to you," he took his hand and grabbed Cuddy's and removed it. "You'll be fine with my replacement. He's not as idiotic as he seems."

He turned around and sat on his couch and she watched as he grabbed the bottle of scotch, no longer using his mug to pour it into. "Lock the door on your way out," he said before raising the bottle to his lips and took another gulp.

But she didn't. Instead she walked around the other side of his couch and sat down, her right leg extended but her left tucked under herself and faced him. She lifted his jeans to get a better look at the cut that he ignored. He silently stared at her while she was being so careful with him. Then she looked up at him. "I'll leave, give you some space if that's what you want. But, I'm not going before I clean up that leg," she saw he was about to protest but she continued before he could. "You took care of me. Now let me take care of you."

She didn't wait for a response. She didn't get one anyway. He sat there quietly as she went into the bathroom to get a clean towel to dampen to help clean the dirt around the cut. It was hard for her to walk in there. The towels she saw she recognized as ones she had used when showering at his place, remembering how he'd take them off of her as soon as she wrapped them on. She sighed and put the faucet on and grabbed a fresh hand towel.

She came back and saw him taking another sip of scotch and with her right hand she took the bottle away from him and put it on the coffee table close to her. "I'm also making coffee before I leave," she lightly touched his leg to hold it steady when she took her left hand that held the towel and wiped it on the cut.

"Shit!" House screamed and banged his fist on the couch armrest.

"Sorry. I know it hurts." She looked up at him and knew he was in pain. "Do you think you can hold your leg still?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," he spat out while trying to hold his breath.

She moved the towel from her left hand to her right. "Here, hold my hand," she told him while reaching out to his. He grabbed it and mumbled a thank you.

"Of course, House. Someone has to make sure you're alright." The way she said that told him she meant it.

"You don't have to do anymore. I can do the rest," he said trying to save her the burden.

"I don't believe you will, so, I have to." She took the towel away and he felt her blow on his leg to dry it.

She let go of his hand and stood up. "I'm going to wrap it up after I make your coffee, let it air out." He watched her go into his kitchen. She looked so at home at his place, like she belonged there. He tried so hard to keep her away. To stay away from her, but she came anyway. Left him no choice but to open the door for her.

She left the kitchen, smiled at him as she passed the living room to go to the hallway back into the bathroom to get something to wrap his leg with.

When she came back and covered it, they both heard the coffee was done. She silently got up, poured him a cup, set it down next to him and took the alcohol away and stood over him for a second, taking him in before she spoke again.

"If you need anything else all you have to do is-"

"I won't need anything," he interrupted.

She looked at him disappointed. "House," she said trying to get his attention, to make sure he hears what she's about to say. "When your leg starts healing, give me a call. We can work on getting you back to work."

"Did you not hear ANYTHING I said when you came here. I SHOULDN'T be working in the same hospital as you. That's WHY I'm leaving!" he got angry again.

She stayed quiet, just stared at him as he stared back. "Take some time to think about that decision before doing anything. We can find something for your replacement to do. He can be a new member of your team. Just know," she took his hand in hers before she continued. "Your job is there-when you're ready to come back."

She let go of his hand and walked around the couch to the front door and turned to look back at him and saw he sat there not moving. "Thank you, for the leg and the coffee. I hope my replacement works out," he said to her, back in a calm voice.

She smiled at him even though she knew he couldn't see it for the thank you, but it went away with the thought that he was determined to not come back. "You're welcome, House." She opened the door, turned the lock on the inside of the door to lock it behind her and let herself out...


	20. Chapter 20

Three weeks had passed since Cuddy went over to House's apartment. She wanted to go back and check up on him, but, Wilson told her the reason he isn't at the hospital is because of her. He thinks he's doing a good thing by staying away. Going there now just might upset him again and if he is thinking of coming back, to let him come on his time.

"You know House, you can't push him into anything."

"He won't let you in will he?"

"He changed his lock because I had a spare key, I threatened to have Foreman show up with me to break the door down, he put a deadbolt on, he put locks on his windows from the inside and never answers his phone no matter how many times I call. He's ignoring me too."

She wanted to say he was wrong. That House was only ignoring HER because he didn't know how much he needed her. She HAS to go to him to make him realize he NEEDS to come back. But, she also knew Wilson had a point. If you go to him, and force yourself upon him, it could set him even further into the down-spiral he was in last time she saw him.

So she waited.

She had to give props to his replacement Dr. Fredrickson. Patients who came here still demand for House. They would sometimes start screaming at him, saying that they came here specifically for him, and didn't want to be seen by anybody else. Luckily, Fredrickson knew about House's reputation as a Doctor, though, it was hard to be in the field of medicine and not know of him, so dealt with those patients the best he knew who to. He always managed to get them to agree to see him in the end. Cuddy assumed House knew about his persistence with patients, which may have been the reason he chose him to take over.

But, that couldn't hide the fact that things were different without him. The whole hospital seemed to sense it. Most of them complained about him, and hated his pranks, and have to deal with him as he was getting out of paying for his meals, and limping around acting as though he was this hospital; but, they grew so accustomed to it, they felt strange without dealing with all those daily annoyances he brought on.

And seeing this change that the absence of House made, Cuddy thought after all his preaching that he was right in a lot of ways. He was this hospital. She even noticed it walking through the lobby when he was a patient and she came back to see him. She saw him everyone in her mind's eye.

Cuddy sat buried in paperwork at her desk when the door to her office came swinging open. "What is it?" she asked, still looking down.

"I need a letter of recommendation."

"House," Cuddy looked up in surprise.

"Yeah," he replied as though nothing has been happening and it HADN'T been three weeks since he's been at the hospital.

"How's your leg?" she got up out of her seat, revealing she still had a cast on. She walked over and despite his squirming to not, she pulled up his pant leg and saw that it was the same bandage she put on the last time she saw him. "House," she straightened herself, inches away from where he stood. "That MUST be hurting you. You haven't done anything to help it heal have you?"

"I'm fiiiinne," he answered. "Now, c'mon. I need that recommendation.

She looked at him squinting, getting a better look. "You're on something. That's why you're not feeling the pain in that leg. What are you taking?"

"Nothing. Recommendation. Now."

She walked to the edge of her desk and leaned on it facing him. "No. You're not getting one."

"Cuddy! We ALLL thought it was funny when you refused to give Foreman one, but, NO ONE'S laughing now!"

"I refused Foreman because I felt he belonged here. I'm refusing you for the same reason," she crossed her arms over her chest, challenging him to argue that.

"I don't BELONG here!"

"Everyone who cares about you is here!" she pointed her arm in the direction of her window. "No one cares about you at the other hospitals the way we all do because at one point or another you tried to scheme your way into getting things from all of them! You think they don't REMEMBER that?"

"Not ALL of them! I can go to the west coast. There are hospitals who I haven't targeted before that I can apply at. I can be THOUSANDS of miles away from everyone I know, everyone who I've pissed off over the years and I'll be JUST FINE WITHOUT YOU OR WILSON DOWN MY BACK! Now give me the recommendation Cuddy!"

"NO! You think you'll be fine without me, get another job without my help! Go do it without me!" She gave him an annoyed look and walked back over to her chair behind her desk to sit down.

He watched as she did that and she looked back in his direction. "You want to be that way, fine. I WILL do it without you!" he turned and swung the door back open which she didn't even realize he closed after he walked in, she was too in shock to notice.

But the second he walked out and she saw him limping away quickly she regretted everything she said to him. Knowing that was just the right push he needed to go into a more destructive path. She picked up her phone to call Wilson to tell him what just happened...


	21. Chapter 21

House slammed down his glass that was full of scotch a second ago demanding for more from the bartender who was pouring drinks for people on the other end.

"Are you sure you want more? I think you've had enough," he told House as he came over to his side and stretched out his arms, placing his hands on his end of the bar and faced him.

"No, I've drank a lot more than this." House spat out. "One more."

The bartender studied House and saw that even in the dim light surrounding the bar that he looked sad. "Girlfriend troubles?" he asked him as he stopped pouring at the halfway mark of his glass. When he saw House's annoyed expression he stood his ground. "That's all you're getting. So, is it?"

"Will answering you get me more in my glass?"

"Maybe. Depends on the story."

"Then, yeah," he paused. "No...she was, but, now she isn't. She's my boss at the..hospital," House pointed in the direction of Princeton-Plainsboro.

"Is that why you're here? Just broke up?"

House threw his head back and laughed to himself. "No, not just. I ran my car into her house when I saw her with another guy," he slammed his fist on the bar as he saw it in his mind's eye. "Dammit, Cuddy!" He gulped down the scotch, paused and looked into his now empty glass. "She won't leave me alone all her-" he stopped. "Why the hell am I telling you this?" he looked down at his drink again. "I did have too much." He stood up and used the bar to stop wobbling and grabbed his wallet and threw some bills at the bartender.

"If you ask me, this Cuddy, still has a thing for you. No woman tolerates a guy doing that unless she still feels something." He lifted an eyebrow while watching House sway when standing. "You need a cab? I don't think you should be driving."

House lifted his cane, "I'm not driving." The bartender kept a close eye on him and saw he ran into the doorway, fell and hit his head.

"Shit!" The bartender walked around and ran to House. "His heads bleeding! Call an ambulance! Say he needs to see a-a Cuddy! Princeton-Plainsboro!"

"Cuddy?" Stephanie one of the nurses from the ER said when she came into her office after knocking once.

"What is it, Stephanie?" she asked looking up from her computer.

"I have a patient in the ER who, was brought in to see you," she started nervously, Cuddy seeing a file being held in her hand.

"To see me? Why me? Can you get Foreman to go take a look? If they want to talk to the Dean of Medicine you can just explain that he sometimes stands in for me and-"

"No, in this case, I don't think that will work."

She got Cuddy's full attention and curiosity. "Let me see the file," she reached her hand out and Stephanie slowly walked over to her and laid it in Cuddy's right hand. She opened it to see the name. When she did she felt dizzy, afraid to read what it said below "Gregory House" in the name section. "How long has he been here?" She asked getting up and walking to the ER with Stephanie.

"Not long. He's awake now and sober. I gave him a banana bag. He hit his head on the floor of some bar, the bartender told the paramedics to send him here and to alert you when he got here."

"Head trauma?"

"No, not that we could see, just cut himself is all. We put a bandage on him so he looks worse than he is."

They reached the ER and Cuddy saw him right away, sitting at the edge of the bed, his head covered in a bandage like she was told and was looking anxious to leave. Cuddy thanked Stephanie for getting her and stormed over to House who saw her coming.

"You SON OF A BITCH! Do you know you could have KILLED yourself if you hit your head harder? Or, could have wandered out into the street and gotten hit by a car? What are you doing at a bar at noon?"

"There were a lot of people there." House retorted back unaffected by her screaming at him.

"Oh, well that's alright then," she answered sarcastically. "Why are you doing this? Why do you feel the need to DESTROY your life and EVERYONE ELSE who cares about you?"

"Why do you care so much?"

"Are you KIDDING ME?" she got in his face and he looked over her shoulder.

"You're attracting a lot of attention to yourself," he said casually.

Cuddy wheeled around and saw all the nurses at the station looking down as soon as they saw her turn, acting like they weren't listening and Cuddy grabbed the curtain and pulled it around the bed to stop them from at least looking at them while she was there.

"You never answered the question," House commented. Cuddy's look turned from frustrated to soft and concerned. He looked over to the side at nothing in thought. "He was right," he mumbled.

"Who was right? Are you seeing someone? Are you hallucinating?" Cuddy asked putting her hand on his face to turn for him to look at her.

"What? NO!" he took her hand off of his face. "Answer the question, Cuddy," he studied her face as she was clearly trying to not answer it. But, she knew him well enough to know he wouldn't shut up until she did.

"I tried... SO HARD to hate you. When you did what you did, it was easy. I hated you and NEVER wanted to see you again. I was done," she took a breath and continued, staring into his eyes like they were staring at hers. "But then...time started to pass. All the GOOD stuff that you have done started to outweigh the bad. And then Wilson called and I SAW you again. I can't handle watching you be so self-destructive! It hurts me to see how much you DON'T care about your well being. And it doesn't matter how much Wilson says he cares, or, how much I- YOU need to care about you. Please, House. I need you to care. I NEED you ALIVE." She paused again and he stayed quiet. His stare was growing more intense the more she revealed. She felt tears building up in her eyes. "I'm not saying..I don't know what I want from this..I just, I HATE that I STILL love you," she wiped away the one that fell and House inhaled deeply at her confession. "PLEASE," she grabbed his right hand in hers. "Get help, go see someone if Wilson and I aren't enough," another tear dropped that she just let slide down her cheek and House watched it as it fell. "Do it for me. Then maybe...who knows. If you need me, I'll be there for you. Then we'll see where we are."

He sat still. He didn't move, or speak, and Cuddy searched his face to try and guess what he was thinking but didn't want to say anymore than what she already did.

"Okay," he said softly.

She let out a laugh that was masked as a sigh of relief. "You will?" she asked while wiping the tears away. "You're not lying to me?"

"No," he said in the same soft tone, never in a million years thinking he would see Cuddy break down like this over him again.

She squeezed his hand and let go, and he watched her as she stood up. "I have to get back to work," she said while trying to compose herself before moving the curtain. "Can I call you tomorrow and see how you're doing? You'll answer if I call?"

He nodded his head 'yes.'

She turned after smiling and he watched as she was now straightening out her skirt from sitting. "Cuddy," he said and she turned around to look at him again. "I never stopped loving you."

Wanting those words to be the last she heard from him for the day, she turned back and left.


End file.
